In a small survey of 125 parents of child cancer survivors, led by Ha, about one in five expressed concern about the safety of exercise for children in recovery.
Ha developed the iBounce program from an existing academic education program for cancer survivors. Children can take themselves through the activities, using videos played on a TV or tablet.
An evaluation of the program conducted during Sydney’s Delta lockdown when schools and parks were shut, published in JMIR Cancer this month, resulted in participants improving their aerobic fitness over 12 weeks.
While, historically, children had been told to stick to bed rest while in hospital, Ha said doctors were increasingly seeing the benefits of limited physical activity, both during and after treatment.
Dr. David Mizrahi, an exercise physiologist and research fellow at the Daffodil Center, said physical activity was becoming more accepted in cancer care. Australia’s peak organization for oncologists was the first in the world to recommend exercise as part of treatment and recovery in 2018, with its US counterpart following suit this year.
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“There has been a big shift from the ‘rest and protect’ mentality, to taking an active approach. “Physical activity is one aspect of the cancer journey patients do have control over,” he said.
Associate Professor Kimberley Docking, director of the University of Sydney’s Neurokids Research, said increasing child cancer survival rates, as well as increasing rates of children being diagnosed, meant there was a “flourishing” field of research in helping children who have survived cancer to develop alongside their peers.
“Decades ago, sadly, we didn’t get to think about recovery in children as much, so now as the survival rates are growing up, we have this growing body of children who need support – be that physical, communication, cognition, mental health,” she said.
Kingston, who took part in an early stage of the iBounce program, said he enjoyed being able to see his improvement over the sessions.
For his mother, his return to his sporty self is a welcome assurance that having cancer will not define his life.
“Most of the players he plays against now would have no idea of his history, and that’s what I’ve always wanted for him.”
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