Published online Aug 10, 2014. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v5.i3.554
Revised: March 17, 2014
Accepted: May 31, 2014
Published online: August 10, 2014
Exercise and rehabilitation approaches in palliative care programs for cancer patients affect patients’ symptoms, physical functioning, muscle strength, emotional wellbeing, psychological symptoms, functional capacities, quality of life, mortality and morbidity positively. Based on scientific data, palliative cancer patients should be recommended to participate in exercise programs. There is no standard approach to recipe an exercise regimen for a palliative cancer survivor. Studies for demonstrating the positive effects of exercising in palliative care patients are increasing in number day by day. At this point, increasing awareness about exercising in the entire team monitoring the patient and our efforts in this matter seems to be very important.
Core tip: Although cancer patients are in great need of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, this is often ignored by health professionals. For this reason, the role of physiotherapy and rehabilitation during palliative care in cancer patients is limited in both clinical practice and literature. Exercise in palliative care should definitely be considered since it is easily administered and safe and is beneficial for the patient.