September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month across North America and parents now have a new tool to help them find physical activities for their children to aid recovery and increase energy.

The Pediatric Oncology Exercise Manual (POEM) is intended to give parents of children with cancer the ability to help them handle the side effects of treatment and improve overall well-being through increased activity.

“It’s been well-established that movement and exercise are very beneficial for this patient population but, until now, that knowledge has been in the hands of a relatively small number of specialists,” says Carolina Chamorro-Viña, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow who co-ordinated the development of POEM and is one of its editors.  “Our hope is that POEM will empower parents and their children to use physical activity as a fun and effective way to improve recovery, fitness and quality of life.”

POEM is believed to be the first manual of its kind and draws on the expertise of numerous health care professionals from around the world.

The manual has information on physical activity that takes into account different types of cancers, such as leukemia and solid tumours.

It also tackles different types of treatment side effects that can result after a bone marrow or stem-cell transplant, like damage to the heart muscle, osteoporosis, and graft-versus-host disease.

“Cancer treatments often lead to decreases in muscle mass, aerobic capacity and bone density, which can be countered with a program of physical activity,” Dr. Chamorro-Viña says.

Malcolm Massiah’s daughter Lydia is seven now but was just seven months old when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had chemotherapy to treat her condition.

He says the journey has been long but they are doing great now, thanks to the PEER program.

“This program here, when she first joined, she couldn’t jump, she was having troubles walking, this has really increased her stamina, her endurance, she’s jumping now, she’s doing obstacles now, it’s really helped her out,” said Massiah.

PEER stands for Pediatric cancer patients and survivors Engaging in Exercise for Recovery and is delivered in partnership with Kids Cancer Care at Alberta Children’s Hospital. 

The POEM program will officially be launched at an education workshop on September 24 at Gordon Townsend School, in the lower level of Alberta Children’s Hospital, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m, and is open to parents of children with cancer.

For more information about POEM, or to obtain a copy, contact Dr. Culos-Reed’s lab at wellnesslab@ucalgary.ca.