Background Breast cancer survivors (BCS) face several symptoms and are at higher risk of weight gain following diagnosis.
Current literature shows that both exercise and diet play a key role in recovery of BCS. However, there is a gap between
current guidelines and the real-world context. The aim of this article is to describe the process behind a free, not-for-proft
community-based therapeutic exercise and education programme (TEEP) for BCS in the clinical setting.
Methods The “Onco-Health Club” (OHC) consists of therapeutic exercise (TE) intervention aimed at ameliorating cancerrelated fatigue (CRF) and improving QoL and physical function. TE is supplemented with nutritional education, providing
information about the Mediterranean diet. To this end, patients are recruited from an oncologist and are referred to a physiotherapist and a nutritionist for baseline assessment. TEEP consists of a 3-month intervention, delivered twice a week in
a group format with 1 h of TE and 30 min of nutritional education. BCS then have a fnal assessment and are advised to
continue with a healthy lifestyle. Data about referral, compliance and assessment were collected.
Results From May 2017 to February of 2020, a total of 158 patients were recruited from 8 cohorts and 142 initially started
the OHC. From 119 that joined the program, 96 patients were considered to have fnished it with good adherence (assistance>80%). BCS signifcantly improved their QoL, as well as upper and lower limb’s function, and increased their level
of physical activity. CRF tended to decrease (p=0.005).
Conclusions This study obtained data on recruitment, compliance, and possible limitations of these kinds of programmes
in a real-world context. Further research is needed in order to optimize patient engagement and compliance, as well as to
determine the transferability of these programmes in the clinical setting. Trial registration NCT03879096, Registered 18th March 2019. Retrospectively registered.
