Virtual Exercise Classes for Adult Cancer Survivors (SURGE)

ABOUT THE STUDY

Regular physical activity can help cancer survivors improve their physical fitness and quality of life. However, many cancer survivors do not get enough physical activity to experience these benefits.

Researchers are studying whether live, online group exercise classes can help cancer survivors become more physically active than recorded exercise videos. Live classes allow participants to exercise with an instructor and other participants in real time, providing opportunities for guidance and social connection. Recorded videos allow participants to follow the same type of exercise program without attending live sessions.

Researchers will compare the two approaches to see how they affect physical activity, physical fitness, quality of life, and loneliness. The findings may help researchers develop accessible online exercise programs for people living with and beyond cancer.

WHAT THE STUDY INVOLVES

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two 12-week exercise programs:

• Live, online group exercise: Participants will join instructor-led exercise classes on Zoom twice a week. They will also take part in five online discussion sessions covering topics such as setting exercise goals, overcoming barriers to physical activity, and strategies for exercising independently.
• Recorded exercise videos: Participants will access prerecorded exercise classes and discussion sessions online and complete them on their own schedule.

Both groups will receive exercise guidance and equipment for home-based exercise.

Participants will also complete online surveys and fitness assessments and wear a physical activity monitor and a watch to measure their usual activity. Assessments and surveys will take place at enrollment, after the 12-week program, and at the six-month follow-up.

The study lasts approximately nine months, including the 12-week exercise program and a six-month follow-up period during which participants will not have study activities. The study is conducted remotely, so participants can complete the study activities online.

Adults age 18 and older living in the United States may be eligible if they meet all of the following requirements:

• They have been diagnosed with any type of cancer within the past five years.
• They have completed primary or adjuvant cancer treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy and have no planned treatments for the next nine months (people on long-term therapies such as tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, androgen deprivation therapy, certain targeted or immunotherapies may be eligible)
• They can speak and read English. 

People with may not be eligible if they:

• Already exercise at least 150 minutes per week at moderate or vigorous intensity.
• Have any medical conditions that make unsupervised moderate- or vigorous-intensity exercise unsafe, such as uncontrolled hypertension.
• Cannot walk without an assistive device.
• Are currently participating in, or planning to participate in, another structured exercise program or physical activity intervention.