Lifestyle Modification Program for Lung Cancer Patients - A Pilot Study

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancer diseases, globally and locally. Several health benefits of increased physical activity (PA) have been reported for people with cancer. PA plays a critical role across the cancer trajectory, from prevention through to post-diagnosis and has been proposed as an alternative for improving physical and psychosocial health outcomes, reducing cancer recurrence, and cancer-specific and all-cause mortality.

Although there are a variety of exercise intervention programs for cancer patients, those programs were quite intensive, requiring individuals to commit extra time and effort. Feeling of overwhelmed appointments, lack of time, other barriers, including high cost and limited access to facilities are the most frequently reported barriers that prevent people from starting and maintaining exercise. Hence, the investigators propose to use a brief messaging lifestyle modification intervention program to incorporating simple and easy-to-do patient-centred home-based lifestyle-integrated exercise into daily activities of patients with lung cancer. The aims are to increase patients' physical activity and improve their fatigue, emotion and quality of life, compared to the control group.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancer, globally and locally. Patients with lung cancer are in a uniquely challenging situation in their disease, comorbidities, and treatment that may lead to worsened symptoms and many negative health consequences, including fatigue, irritability, and impaired daytime functioning.

Physical activity (PA) is defined as 'any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle that results in energy expenditure'. Several health benefits of increased PA have been reported for people with cancer. PA plays a critical role across the cancer trajectory, from prevention through to post-diagnosis and has been proposed as an alternative for improving physical and psychosocial health outcomes, reducing cancer recurrence, and cancer-specific and all-cause mortality. Although there are a variety of exercise intervention programs for cancer patients, those programs were quite intensive, requiring individuals to commit extra time and effort. Most clinicians underutilise exercise therapy, regardless of its low-cost way to improve symptoms and potential health outcomes. Feeling of overwhelmed appointments, lack of time, other barriers, including high cost and limited access to facilities are the most frequently reported barriers that prevent people from starting and maintaining exercise. Low motivation, fear to exercise, lack of knowledge about benefits are the most common barriers of engaging in physical activity for cancer patients.

Hence, the current proposal is to use a brief messaging lifestyle modification intervention program to incorporating simple and easy-to-do patient-centred home-based lifestyle-integrated exercise (light to moderate physical activity) into daily activities of patients with lung cancer.

The investigators hypothesised that patients in the experimental group would display significantly higher increases in physical activity and improvements in fatigue, emotion and quality of life, compared to the control group.

The objectives are to examine the short-term clinical effects on impacts on fatigue, emotion and quality of life in patients with lung cancer, and to evaluate the feasibility of a brief lifestyle-integrated exercise program to increase physical activity by a pilot study with objective fitness and subjective questionnaire assessment, and focus group interviews.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Aged 18 years and above;
* Diagnosis with non-small cell lung cancer
* General condition stable, either is undergoing or finished treatment
* Able to speak and read Chinese
* Able to complete the self-administered questionnaire
* Able to use instant messages such as WhatsApp or WeChat
* Mental, cognitive and physically fit determined by the clinicians/investigators
* Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Pre-operative lung cancer
* Skeletal fragility
* Serious active infection
* Inability to walk
* Previously untreated symptomatic brain metastases
* Severe respiratory insufficiency
* Uncontrolled pain