Approved Research

Correlates of health-related variables, quality of life, physical function, and cancer-related outcomes among people with or without a cancer diagnosis.

Lay summary

The number of people living with and beyond cancer is growing. Research shows we could have fewer cancer cases, cancer-related deaths, and healthcare costs if people were more physically active and adopted a healthier lifestyle. Regular physical activity, together with healthy eating, helps people maintain their daily activities and improves their energy levels and quality of life. However, many older adults living with or beyond cancer are inactive with an unhealthy diet.  More research into how lifestyle behaviours can help improve physical, emotional, and mental health and in turn cancer recovery is urgently needed. This is also the case for people who are about to receive surgery or treatment for their cancer diagnosis.

We want to look at the data and see if there are any relationships or patterns among people with better health outcomes and if there is any difference between those with a history of cancer and those without. This will take the form of a number of different statistical tests that will look for relationships in demographic characteristics, clinical and physical measures, and information about lifestyle behaviours. These relationships are important to find and understand because it can help us predict who might need what specific support in order to live as well as possible, as long as possible after a cancer diagnosis.