A Combined Exercise Training Program for Women Living With Breast Cancer

Women living with and beyond breast cancer who received chemotherapy treatment are at a heightened risk for experiencing adverse mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety, depression, self-efficacy and self esteem) and declines in cognitive function (i.e., impairments to memory, learning, concentration, reasoning, executive function, attention, processing speed and/or visual-spatial skills deficits) compared to those without a history of cancer. These effects may be worsened among those who received chemotherapy treatment and may persist for up to 5 and 20 years following chemotherapy treatment completion, respectively. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing adversities in the mental health of women living with and beyond breast cancer due to reduced social opportunities, greater sedentary time, fear of susceptibility to the virus and barriers to in-person support services. Physical activity (PA) may be used to manage mental health adversities and improve QoL among women living with and beyond breast cancer. In addition, preliminary evidence has demonstrated the potential mediating effect of PA on cognitive impairments among women living with and beyond breast cancer. Remote-based interventions could be an effective option to increase PA during the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining physical distancing protocols. In addition, the combination of exercise with group-based counselling has been found to be feasible and provide favourable improvements in depression, self-efficacy, social support, and quality of life and long-term PA maintenance among women living with and beyond breast cancer, compared to exercise interventions alone. However, no studies have evaluated the feasibility and impact of a supervised, remotely delivered, combined (i.e., aerobic and resistance) exercise + behaviour counselling program on mental health and cognitive function in women living with and beyond breast cancer following chemotherapy treatment. Using a mixed-method approach, this study will address these gaps by evaluating the feasibility of a supervised, remotely delivered combined (i.e., aerobic and resistance) exercise and behavioural counselling program for mental health and cognitive function in women living with and beyond breast cancer. This project is necessary given the remote-based format of exercise delivery that has been adopted because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for programs to be adapted to an environment that is safe and reliable to deliver to women living with and beyond breast cancer.