ArticleBMJ open2022
'You're kind of left to your own devices': a qualitative focus group study of patients with breast, prostate or blood cancer at a hospital in the South West of England, exploring their engagement with exercise and physical activity during cancer treatment and in the months following standard care.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Patient attitudes and experiences towards exercise during oncological treatment. A qualitative systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Navigating digital behavior change: a mixed-method examining the expert perspectives for cancer survivors.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025Article
- "I've got plenty of energy when I'm doing something I want to do": applying self-determination theory to exercise motivation in people with prostate cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Integrating behaviour change techniques into a video intervention to promote physical activity during cancer treatment (VidEx): a qualitative, theory-informed study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Exercise and diet support in breast and prostate cancer survivors: findings from focus groups.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- "There is no expiration date": a qualitative analysis using the Social Cognitive Theory to identify factors influencing physical activity among adults living with advanced cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aim of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with breast, prostate or blood cancer, regarding their (1) engagement with exercise and physical activity during treatment and in the months following standard care, and (2) the meanings attached to these lifestyle behaviours.
designA qualitative study using focus groups. The groups were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed using Framework analysis.
settingA hospital-based cancer treatment centre in the South-West of England.
participantsEighteen people who had either completed treatment or were currently on maintenance therapy for breast, prostate or blood cancer (non-Hodgkin lymphoma or Hodgkin lymphoma).
resultsParticipants reported treatment limiting their ability to engage in exercise and physical activity. However, participants were aware of the physiological, emotional and social benefits of exercise and expressed a desire to maintain a physically active lifestyle before, during and after treatment. They noted a lack of concrete guidance and appropriate exercise classes for people with cancer and felt poorly informed about the type, intensity, duration and frequency of exercise they should be undertaking. As such, participants reported making decisions on their own, relying on their intuition and listening to their bodies to gauge whether they were doing enough exercise (or not).
conclusionsParticipants were aware of the benefits of a physically active lifestyle during and following cancer treatment, but were not familiar with exercise and physical activity guidelines for people living with and beyond cancer. There is a need for healthcare professionals, academics and policy makers to determine how exercise and physical activity can be supported in clinical settings in realistic and meaningful ways accommodating individual patient circumstances.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.