Georgie Burgess
26 September 2025: Getting and staying active during cancer treatment is no small feat, but three PhD candidates and Exercise Physiologists at the ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ have each researched the positive impacts that movement can bring for cancer patients, including addressing cognitive decline and boosting mental health.
Looking at both the mind and body, PhD candidate and Accredited Exercise Physiologist Alanah Pike has explored the impact that combining both physical activity and cognitive training has on the brain health of prostate cancer survivors.
“Think of it this way: exercise helps to build the brain’s bricks, while cognitive training helps cement these bricks in place. Together, these bricks and mortar don’t just form a wall or a structure, but an ever-evolving architecture,” Ms Pike explained.
“This can help resist the effects of cognitive decline, including in ageing.”
Four groups were set up to take part in the research study, with a quarter of participants taking part in concurrent physical activity training and cognitive training. This involved setting participants up on a sitting stationary bike, which they used while also engaging in cognitive training games – for example, tracking moving objects on a screen.
However, real world applications do not have to involve any equipment or special tools for cancer survivors to take part.
“It might be as simple as going for a walk with someone, and while you’re walking – which is engaging in physical exercise – you’re also having a chat which uses your short-term memory. If you’ve got a little more coordination than me, a dancing class where you’re having to move and memorise steps might be something to think about,” Ms Pike said.
“Even things like mowing the lawn and then heading inside and doing a crossword or Sudoku could be considered concurrent training.”
Initial findings from Ms Pike’s clinical trial show promise, with high satisfaction and positive engagement results coming through.
“We found that the concurrent intervention was in fact feasible, tolerable and may provide the most benefit of all the intervention arms,” she said.
Jay Calder, an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and PhD candidate, has centred his research on how resistance-based exercise training canaffect the mental health of cancer patients – with effects on everything from depression and anxiety symptoms to self-perception.
Recent analysis by the revealed that 40 per cent of participants in their study experienced worsening mental health following their diagnosis.
To try and combat this, Calder engaged individuals with a cancer diagnosis with a six-week training block, which involved resistance training three times a week, that progressively added more volume to the workouts.
“Exercise presents as a feasible and real intervention for improving the psychological health of individuals diagnosed with cancer,” Mr Calder said.
“We see enhanced self-perceptions, and it also offers a distraction from symptoms, and a way to even manage some of the symptoms [and treatment side effects] they may be experiencing.”
Initial results from Calder’s study have found that frequent resistance training did help to improve participants’ self-perception and reduce their depressive symptoms.
The mode and intensity of training can be adapted as needed to the individual’s needs, while still creating positive change.
“It provides us with an opportunity to introduce more milestones, use goal-setting to achieve objective outcomes and show individuals that they are more capable than they may perceived due to their diagnosis of cancer,” he said.
With more than a decade of experience working in exercise oncology, PhD candidate and Accredited Exercise Physiologist Rebecca Cesnik has explored the ways in which clinicians can embed physical activity into chemotherapy care from the beginning of treatment, with 91 per cent of participants in her study saying they wanted to be more active.
“One of the things that I really wanted to understand was what the barriers are and where the opportunities can be for more activity, and if we could do something to help increase physical activity during this time period,” Ms Cesnik said.
A lack of clear instruction was one of the major hurdles Cesnik encountered when talking to participants during her study – including those who are caring for loved ones going through chemotherapy treatment.
“Overwhelmingly, we were told that there was inconsistent education across the board. People who were undergoing chemotherapy were told to stay active – but that doesn’t mean a lot without the extra information about what being active means to them, and why they should be active,” she said.
Staff shortages and a lack of education across the clinical space were two of the main issues that Ms Cesnik observed when researching why physical activity wasn’t being implemented in a sustainable and long-term way.
Ms Cesnik’s research pushes for a change in the way the health workforce is taught.
“We need a significant increase in staff knowledge and confidence to have these conversations with patients. Staff understand the benefits of physical activity, but they don’t know how or aren’t confident to have those conversations. The education given to people undergoing chemotherapy and their carers needs to be repeated, and it needs to be detailed – it can’t just be a one-off attempt.”
Ms Pike’s research project was funded collaboratively between the Wereld Kanker Ondersoek Fonds (WKOF) – as part of the World Cancer Research Fund International grant program – and Cancer Australia.
To find out more and support further research in this space, email the team at ucrise@canberra.edu.au