Most physicians working with cancer patients are unaware of the results of prospective clinical trials conducted over the past 20+ years on the value of exercise for cancer patients. Not only were these trials prospective, but many were also randomized. The number of these clinical trials has recently surpassed 2,600!
The hard science and data that have emerged from these clinical trials provides overwhelming evidence of the value of exercise in cancer patients’ pre-treatment, during treatment, and post treatment, as well on long-term survivorship,
Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Schmitz is one of the leading researchers in the United States and globally on Exercise Oncology.
Her recently published book has emerged as a wonderful guide for patients and caregivers:
They state,
Oncology providers should recommend
regular aerobic and resistance exercise
during active treatment with curative intent
to mitigate side effects of cancer treatment.
The ASCO of Australia (COSA) declared in 2018 that “exercise” is a “standard of adjunctive care” for all cancer patients.
The American Cancer Society has a wonderfully crafted statement about exercise entitled “Physical Activity and the Person with Cancer” (https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/CRC/PDF/Public/9540.00.pdf).
The statement was last revised on June 3, 2021.
Multiple national and international medical organizations have supportive statements on the important role of exercise in the management of cancer patients. However, the full across-the-board implementation of these positive statements has been lacking.
Dr. Harness’ goal is to make Exercise Oncology a standard of adjunctive care for all cancer patients in the US and globally, as it already is in Australia!
Dr. Harness spent the first 28 years of his career in academic life at the University of Michigan, Tufts University, and the University of California (Davis, UCSF & UCI).
He received both his MD degree and training in General Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. He then remained on the faculty at the University of Michigan and developed one of the first United States academic multidisciplinary breast centers in 1985. Dr. Harness left the University of Michigan in 1989 and spent two years at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston where he also established a multidisciplinary breast center at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center.
Subsequently, he came to Oakland, California in 1991 to join the University of California-East Bay Department of Surgery where he was a Professor and Chief of Surgical Oncology at Highland General Hospital. The opportunity to direct his third multidisciplinary breast program at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, CA came in the summer of 2003. He started his fourth breast surgery program at Northern Inyo Hospital in Bishop, CA in 2016.
He is best known for his work in the fields of endocrine and breast surgery, as well as the use of ultrasound in surgical practice. He is a member of several national and international surgical societies and associations. He is Past-President of The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS), the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES), and Breast International (BSI).
Dr. Harness has authored over 100 scientific articles and book chapters and has been the lead editor of 3 textbooks. His most recent books, The Breast Cancer Answers Book and Operative Approaches to Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy: Indications, Techniques, & Outcomes were published in 2016.
He is a co-founder and Medical Director of Breast Cancer Answers (www.breastcanceranswers.com) which is a Social Media video site for breast cancer patients, family members and friends.
ACCEPTS VIRTUAL CLIENTS
All the best!
Jay K. Harness, MD, FACS
Queen Creek, Arizona
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