Episode 4: Episode 3 - Dr. Bobby Cheema: Why weight training is important for breast cancer and how to do it.

REACH - Research in Exercise And Cancer Health

Dr. Bobby Cheema is researcher and Senior lecturer at University of Western Sydney in Australia. Bobby has done a lot of work in the area of weight training and cancer a really strong advocate of making exercise fit an individuals’ lifestyle. In the show, we talk about why it’s so important for cancer patients and survivors to engage in exercise, how to design a program suit to you, along with some tips on common problem areas for survivors, such as lymphedema and peripheral neuropathy. We also chat about the role of exercise physiologists within the health care system. In Australia, patients with chronic diseases can get reimbursed for training sessions and consultations with exercise physiologists. This is a really strong indicator of the progression of the field, so we hope to promote awareness of this and help push the field forward.

Follow Bobby at his website, drbobbycheema.com

Outline of the Show

2:45 Bobby’s background, my inability to swim.

4:00 Why is weight training important for cancer survivors and the parallels between exercise oncology and cardiac rehab.

10:30 The safety of weight training in cancer, particularly with lymphedema.

13.40 How Bobby approaches the design of an exercise program for cancer patients, including the importance of initial consultations.

17:00 Discussion of the exercise guidelines from the national governing bodies of our field and how we can expand on them.

20:00 Discussion of home-based exercises for those who can’t get to the gym/how to fit exercise into your lifestyle in the bigger picture.

30:00 Exercise physiologists in the Allied health system in Australia and how rebates for exercise sessions/consultations work.

38:00 How different cancer survivors can be, and how the exercise program must be modified to account that.

41:35 Discussion of the difficulty of translating research into to practice and how much work it takes to foster professional relationships with oncologists and physicians.

46.40 Advice for professionals training survivors.