Antonio Domingo shows his biceps with some pride. «Before, he practiced spearfishing and played paddle tennis from time to time, but he had no discipline nor did he go to the gym. Then cancer came, and with the treatments I lost muscle mass; “I couldn't even lift my arm.” Now, this 62-year-old secondary school teacher, a resident of Alcantarilla, is not only in good physical shape, but also mentally, he emphasizes. The Activa Suma program, developed by the Ministry of Health and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (Aecc), has made it possible.
Antonio was detected with colon cancer three years ago. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy sessions. “After a year and a half I had a relapse, with metastases in the liver,” he says. He had to undergo a second surgery and endure a new cycle of chemo. It was hell. «They are treatments with many side effects, you are getting toxicity. There is a moment when you don't have the strength to move, to get out of bed.
During the first cycle of chemotherapy, Antonio found that walking was good for him. «When the session was over, I would get up from the couch and start walking. “I noticed that I recovered more easily.”
“Sport doesn't heal, but it gives you physical strength and helps you a lot psychologically,” says Antonio.
After relapsing and going through chemo again, the oncologist suggested she join the Activa Suma program. Patients who have overcome the disease or even who are still undergoing treatment participate in one-hour sessions, three days a week, led by specialized trainers with degrees in Physical Education.
For Antonio, this has meant a before and after. “Sport does not cure, but it gives you physical strength to face the consequences of treatment and helps you a lot psychologically.” About to complete the year of the program, Antonio has not only become hooked on the sport, but also on the experience of sharing this space with people who have gone through the same thing. «There is a very special environment here, on a human level it has given me many things. You leave here with a different spirit,” he confesses.
Eduardo Mirete is his coach. His job is to adapt the exercises to the profile of each patient. “We work on both cardiovascular exercise (jogging, walking, rhythm) and strength, with machines, dumbbells, bars, etc.,” he explains. Groups of about 15 patients participate in each session. «It was previously thought that exercise could be bad for a person with cancer. Now it is the opposite: there is scientific evidence about the benefits it provides,” Mirete emphasizes.
The Activa Suma program began to germinate, before the pandemic, with the help of two nurses from Morales Meseguer, Pedro Brocal and Inma Lorente. «We are both very athletic and we learned about a project of these characteristics at a congress of the Spanish Society of Oncology Nursing. We started knocking on all the doors and spoke with those responsible for the Ministry's Activa program,” Pedro recalls. This plan was initially aimed at patients with cardiovascular risk factors. But, thanks to this initiative, it has been expanded to cancer with Activa Suma.
Derived from Oncology
The involvement of the Aecc has been fundamental. Patients are referred from the Oncology consultations to the association, which has been expanding spaces for the development of physical activity sessions. The project was going to start just when the state of alarm due to the pandemic arrived, which forced the plans to be delayed. In 2021 the first patients began to arrive. Since then, 350 people have already benefited. Initially, the activity took place at the Aecc headquarters, in Murcia. Now there is a new space: a Physical Activity and Sports Center that opens today, at 11:30, at number 53 Churra road. In addition, the program is also carried out in Molina de Segura, thanks to an agreement with the City Council for the use of municipal facilities, in Cartagena and in the Mar Menor region.
Even Activa Suma is available under medical prescription. The first results support the project. A study with 59 participants observed “an improvement in quality of life”, both “in overall health status” and in “physical function” and “emotional functioning.” Carola Ballester, head of Psycho-oncology at the Aecc, highlights this last aspect. «Programs like this help the patient feel that they are regaining control. If there is something associated with cancer, it is uncertainty, which generates a lot of frustration. “Patients feel helpless,” she explains. The objective, she clarifies, “is not so much to generate a positive attitude as an active one. We must flee from the tyranny of positivism, it is very difficult to confront the disease from there. What it is about is asking yourself: given what is happening to me, what can I do. “That helps a lot to regulate frustration, feelings of anger or guilt.” Antonio Domingo has found in Activa Suma that tool with which to reduce anxiety, improve self-esteem and take control.
Hiking routes and relaxation workshops
In the coming weeks, the Cancer Association will pilot a new project, 'Walk actively', with hiking routes for “patients undergoing active treatment” and also for people who have already had the disease. “We have created these routes not only to encourage patients to move, but also to find social support, something that represents an essential protection factor, especially for those who experience the oncological process alone,” explains Carola Ballester, head of Psycho-oncology of the Aecc in the Region of Murcia. This initiative joins other existing ones, such as relaxation workshops.
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