About the Study
The overall aim of our research is to study the effects of usual lifestyle, including physical activity and health-related fitness (e.g. physical fitness and body composition) on breast cancer recovery and survivorship. Our study is observational, meaning participants continue their usual activities throughout the study.
Given the high incidence of breast cancer and excellent cure rates, there are now over 200,000 breast cancer survivors in Canada. Unfortunately, surviving breast cancer often requires difficult and lengthy medical treatments that can last from several months to many years.
Not surprisingly, breast cancer and its treatments can take a large toll on the health and well-being of breast cancer survivors, especially on the physical aspects of quality of life (i.e. one’s ability to perform physical tasks and do active pursuits).
The unpleasant side effects of breast cancer and its treatments have launched major research efforts looking into strategies to minimize these effects. This research has been targeted towards speeding up recovery times, improving long term quality of life, and reducing the risk of disease recurrence and premature death.
Our research group plans to establish one of the first ever studies of breast cancer survivors designed specifically to examine the roles of usual physical activity and health-related fitness in breast cancer survivorship.
The Alberta Moving Beyond Breast Cancer (AMBER) study will enroll 1500 newly diagnosed breast cancer survivors in Alberta over a 5 year period. Health status will be measured at baseline (within 1-2 months of surgery) and again at 1, 3, and 5 years post-diagnosis. These measures will include physical fitness and lymphedema, questionnaires, and blood sampling. The study participants will be followed for an additional 5 years through medical chart review.
The AMBER Study will serve as the basis for five initial research projects. These projects will focus on your usual physical activity and fitness in relation to:
(1) Disease outcomes such as recurrence and survival,
(2) The biology of disease outcomes,
(3) Quality of life,
(4) Lymphedema, and
(5) Determinants of physical activity
Given the high incidence of breast cancer and excellent cure rates, there are now over 200,000 breast cancer survivors in Canada. Unfortunately, surviving breast cancer often requires difficult and lengthy medical treatments that can last from several months to many years.
Not surprisingly, breast cancer and its treatments can take a large toll on the health and well-being of breast cancer survivors, especially on the physical aspects of quality of life (i.e. one’s ability to perform physical tasks and do active pursuits).
The unpleasant side effects of breast cancer and its treatments have launched major research efforts looking into strategies to minimize these effects. This research has been targeted towards speeding up recovery times, improving long term quality of life, and reducing the risk of disease recurrence and premature death.
Our research group plans to establish one of the first ever studies of breast cancer survivors designed specifically to examine the roles of usual physical activity and health-related fitness in breast cancer survivorship.
The Alberta Moving Beyond Breast Cancer (AMBER) study will enroll 1500 newly diagnosed breast cancer survivors in Alberta over a 5 year period. Health status will be measured at baseline (within 1-2 months of surgery) and again at 1, 3, and 5 years post-diagnosis. These measures will include physical fitness and lymphedema, questionnaires, and blood sampling. The study participants will be followed for an additional 5 years through medical chart review.
The AMBER Study will serve as the basis for five initial research projects. These projects will focus on your usual physical activity and fitness in relation to:
(1) Disease outcomes such as recurrence and survival,
(2) The biology of disease outcomes,
(3) Quality of life,
(4) Lymphedema, and
(5) Determinants of physical activity