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Exercise rehabilitation following surgery for lung cancer

 
Exercise rehabilitation following surgery for lung cancer

Exercise rehabilitation following surgery for lung cancer

PRF RESEARCH
Dr Catherine Granger
 
Exercise rehabilitation following surgery for lung cancer

Grant recipient: Dr Catherine Granger, APAM

Project title: Exercise rehabilitation for patients following surgery for lung cancer: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Year awarded: 2008

PRF grant: Jill Nosworthy Bequest

Snapshot: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Less than 15 per cent of individuals with lung cancer are alive five years after diagnosis. Catherine’s study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of exercise rehabilitation in patients following surgery for lung cancer.

The findings: Catherine and her team's work demonstrated exercise is safe, feasible and well tolerated for the post-operative lung cancer population.

Benefits for the profession: Catherine and her team decided to study exercise rehabilitation for people with lung cancer, due to its importance, lack of existing research and at the time not a part of standard physiotherapy care. The study was one of the very first pilot RCTs to be conducted in this area worldwide and was the first Australian study of its kind and since further large RCTs have since shown, importantly, that exercise is efficacious for this population as well. 

The next steps: Catherine believes the challenge for the physiotherapy profession for the next five years is to now translate this evidence base into routine clinical practice. In 2015 exercise rehabilitation is still not standard care for people with lung cancer in most places in the world. 

For more information please read the full research study published in the Journal of Physiotherapy.

About the author/s

Dr Catherine Granger

APAM

Dr Catherine Granger graduated in 2005 from The University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) as Dux of the course. She began her work in the acute public hospital setting and soon began specialising in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy, in particular the areas of cardiothoracics and intensive care. Catherine completed her PhD (The University of Melbourne, 2013) in the area of physical activity and lung cancer. Her research areas included exercise for patient populations, with a special interest in the efficacy of exercise for cancer survivors. She now supervises a number of research higher degree students and clinicians working in these areas.

Catherine currently works at The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital. She is the Head of Physiotherapy Research and Chair of the Allied Health Quality Committee at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. She is also a lecturer within the Physiotherapy Department at The University of Melbourne. Catherine is a current NHMRC Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) Fellow. Her TRIP projects are focused on implementing the physical activity guidelines for people with lung cancer.

Catherine volunteers widely throughout the profession. Some of these responsibilities include being a member of the PRF grant review committee, APA cardiorespiratory scientific conference organising committee and Victorian Clinician Research Network Advisory Board; as well as being an active peer reviewer for a number of research journals and funding bodies. She is also a regular host on 3RRR radio program Einstein A Go-Go (Sunday morning's 11am) communicating science news to the public.