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Publications (56)
Background:
Home-based exercise interventions might be a desirable long-term option for breast cancer survivors to enhance compliance and long-term health benefits.
Purpose:
To assess the effectiveness of a home-based intervention aimed at helping survivors of breast cancer meet the physical activity guidelines of the American College of Sports...
UNSTRUCTURED
Background: In breast cancer (BCa) survivors, chemotherapy induced muscle loss has been shown to be reserved with structured resistance exercise. Creatine supplementation can increase bioenergetics in skeletal muscle, helping improve overall strength and endurance. Therefore, we hypothesize that adding creatine supplementation can acce...
Background
In breast cancer survivors, chemotherapy-induced muscle loss has been shown to be attenuated with structured resistance exercise. Creatine supplementation can increase bioenergetics in skeletal muscle, which helps to improve overall strength and endurance and reduce muscular fatigue. Therefore, we hypothesize that adding creatinine suppl...
Introduction: A cancer survivor’s health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) can be conceptualized as the state of the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects that define a human being. Interventions to improve health related quality of life need to address all three of these components. In addition, there may be differences in how interventions can b...
Introduction: The Latino cancer burden is expected to rise 142% by 2030. Cancer is the leading cause of death among Latinos who represent 18% of the population and are the majority minority population in the US. Yet, they represent the most underrepresented among those with a doctoral degree. This under-representation and the increasing Latino heal...
Introduction
Preliminary evidence supports the beneficial role of physical activity on prostate cancer outcomes. This phase III randomised controlled trial (RCT) is designed to determine if supervised high-intensity aerobic and resistance exercise increases overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC...
Introduction Preliminary evidence supports the beneficial
role of physical activity on prostate cancer outcomes. This
phase III randomised controlled trial (RCT) is designed to
determine if supervised high-intensity aerobic and resistance
exercise increases overall survival (OS) in patients with
metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)...
Objective:
To report baseline data from a physical activity (PA) intervention for Latina breast cancer survivors, and assess the relationship between PA, fitness, and disability.
Methods:
Eighty-nine Latina breast cancer survivors from San Juan, PR and Houston, TX (age: 55.4 ± 9.9 years; BMI: 29.87 ± 5.62 kg/m2; ≥ 3 months post-treatment) partic...
For cancer survivors, who also often present with co-existing health conditions, exercise testing is often performed using submaximal protocols incorporating linear heart rate response for estimating the cardiorespiratory capacity and assessing exercise tolerance. However, use of beta-blocker medications, during sub-maximal protocols based on linea...
Objective: Provocative evidence promotes the beneficial role of exercise in prostate cancer survivorship as a low-toxicity adjuvant, synergistic and targeted medicine that can be combined with standard cancer therapies to improve patient outcomes. Recently, the INTERVAL-MCRPC trial launched to examine exercise and overall survival in men with metas...
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic women. Certain dietary factors have been associated with the risk of breast cancer recurrence, but data in Hispanic survivors is scarce. Objective: to examine dietary patterns and diet quality in two groups of Hispanic breast cancer survivors. Methods: 23 Mexican-American (MA) and 22...
Objective:
Breast cancer survivors do not engage in appropriate levels of physical activity, despite the known benefits of such activity. This study aims to describe physical-activity levels and the barriers to it in a group of Puerto Rican breast cancer survivors, as well as detailing their preferences for an intervention.
Methods:
Participants...
Objective:
This study evaluated the effect of two home-based exercise interventions (one culturally adapted and one standard) on changes in social cognitive theory (SCT) variables, physical activity (PA), and sedentary time (ST), and determined the association between changes in SCT variables and changes in PA and ST in Hispanic breast cancer surv...
Yoga-based exercise has proven to be beneficial for practitioners, including cancer survivors. This study reports on the improvements in physical fitness for 20 breast cancer survivors who participated in a six-month yoga-based exercise program (YE). Results are compared to a comprehensive exercise (CE) program group and a comparison (C) exercise g...
Introduction: Obesity has reached pandemic levels in the highly Hispanic populated South Texas-Mexico Rio Grande Valley (RGV) which also has the highest levels of physical inactivity in the country. Mexican-American women are less active than non-Hispanic white women, moreover many breast cancer survivors who were not previously active will stay in...
Purpose: The vast majority of long-term cancer survivors are insufficiently active, and breast cancer survivors are more likely to report being physically inactive and sedentary than prostate or colorectal cancer survivors. Social cognitive theory (SCT) has been used to understand physical activity adoption and maintenance in the general adult popu...
Objective: Physical activity can improve breast cancer survivor's physical and emotional well-being while reducing their risk of other chronic diseases and breast cancer recurrence. Although the exact biological mechanisms responsible for the decrease in breast cancer recurrence in those patients that exercise are not known, it is postulated that p...
Objective:
to examine dietary patterns and diet quality in two groups of Hispanic breast cancer survivors.
Methods:
23 Mexican-American (MA) and 22 Puerto Rican (PR) female breast cancer survivors completed a culturally adapted validated food frequency questionnaire. Intake was standardized per 1000 kcal and compared to US Dietary Guidelines and...
Background: Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality among Latina women in the US. Physical activity (PA) and exercise have been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality from cardiometabolic diseases and cancer while improving individual fitness; disability and health related quality of life (HRQoL). However, Latinas, particularly...
Background: The nation's war on cancer has resulted in great improvements in cancer survival rates with over 12 million cancer survivors in the U.S today. Physical activity (PA) has been shown to reduce the risk for chronic diseases including: heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis and cancer. The benefits of PA for cancer survivo...
Background: Puerto Ricans are among the largest Hispanic groups in the US. Clinicians/researchers must become skilled in assessing the prevalence of the perceived unmet needs of Puerto Rican cancer patients undergoing treatment to properly respond to their needs, and is an important part of any culturally comprehensive oncological care. Objective:...
Yoga-based exercise has proven to be beneficial for practitioners, including cancer survivors. This study reports on the effect on inflammatory biological markers for 20 breast cancer survivors who participated in a six-month yoga-based (YE) exercise program. Results are compared to a comprehensive exercise (CE) program group and a comparison (C) e...
Yoga-based exercise has proven to be beneficial for practitioners, including cancer survivors. This study reports on the effect on inflammatory biological markers for 20 breast cancer survivors who participated in a six-month yoga-based (YE) exercise program. Results are compared to a comprehensive exercise (CE) program group and a comparison (C) e...
Objective: Research has shown that physical activity (PA) has a positive effect on cancer survivors, including improving quality of life, improving physical fitness, and decreasing risk for cancer recurrence in some cancer types. Theory-based intervention approaches have identified self-efficacy as a potential mediator of PA intervention. This stud...
BACKGROUND
Few studies to date have used the cancer diagnosis as a teachable moment to promote healthy behavior changes in survivors of cancer and their family members. Given the role of obesity in the primary and tertiary prevention of breast cancer, the authors explored the feasibility of a mother-daughter weight loss intervention.METHODSA random...
Previous research shows that physical activity (PA) can improve physical functioning and quality of life in cancer patients and survivors. The current recommendations for PA in healthy individuals and cancer survivors is 150-250 min/week in order to prevent weight gain and receive other health benefits. PA interventions are not always effective for...
A positive association of obesity with breast cancer incidence and mortality is well established. Recent reports indicate that adipose stromal cells (ASCs) play an important role in breast cancer development and progression by producing estrogens and tumor-promoting cytokines. Furthermore, circulating ASCs have been uniquely detected in obese indiv...
Reduced stress and reduced risk of cancer recurrence are among the many benefits of physical activity (PA) for cancer survivors. Exercise behaviors are linked to motivational factors. We investigated the associations between motivational profile, self-reported levels of PA and stress, and mental functioning in 94 posttreatment breast cancer survivo...
Adipose stromal cells are the primary source of local oestrogens in adipose tissue, aberrant production of which promotes oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Here we show that extracellular matrix compliance and cell contractility are two opposing determinants for oestrogen output of adipose stromal cells. Using synthetic extracellular matri...
Objective:
This study evaluated whether social-cognitive theory (SCT) variables, as measured by questionnaire and ecological momentary assessment (EMA), predicted exercise in endometrial cancer survivors.
Method:
One hundred posttreatment endometrial cancer survivors received a 6-month home-based exercise intervention. EMAs were conducted by usi...
Qualitative data was collected from Mexican-American (MA) and Puerto Rican (PR) breast cancer survivors to gain their perspectives on the relevant issues surrounding breast cancer survivorship and exercise. Six focus groups, a total of 31 participants were convened (three in Puerto Rico and three in Texas). Responses were analyzed and compared betw...
Cardiotoxicity is a troubling long-term side effect of chemotherapy cancer treatment, affecting therapy and quality of life. Exercise is beneficial in heart failure patients and in cancer survivors without heart failure, but has not been tested in cancer survivors with treatment-induced heart failure. We present case studies for two survivors: a 56...
Physical activity (PA) has a myriad of benefits for breast cancer survivors, including a reduced risk of cancer recurrence. Latinas are less physically active than are women in the general population and little is known about Latina breast cancer survivors’ levels of PA or their beliefs related to PA. We conducted a survey of 50 Puerto Rican (PR),...
Physical activity has been shown to benefit cancer survivors' physical functioning, emotional well-being, and symptoms. Physical activity may be of particular benefit to survivors of endometrial cancer because they are more likely to be obese and sedentary than the general population, as these are risk factors for the disease, and thus experience a...
RATIONALE: Cardiotoxicity is a troubling long-term side effect of chemotherapy cancer treatment, affecting therapy and quality of life (QOL). Exercise is beneficial in heart failure (HF) patients and in cancer survivors without HF, but has not been tested in cancer survivors with treatment induced HF. METHODS: We present case studies for two surviv...
To determine whether self-reported exercise duration and intensity matched accelerometer data in sedentary endometrial cancer survivors and age-matched controls.
Participants were asked to wear an accelerometer and self-report exercise bouts, duration, and intensity for one week. Self-reported duration was compared with accelerometer data.
Self-rep...
Self-efficacy can be affected by mastery experiences and somatic sensations. A novel exercise experience and associated sensations may impact self-efficacy and subsequent behaviors. We investigated the effect of a single exercise session on self-efficacy for sedentary endometrial cancer survivors compared with sedentary women of a similar age, but...
Purpose: To provide formative data for culturally tailoring an exercise intervention based on social cognitive theory, six focus groups of Mexican-American and Puerto Rican breast cancer survivors were formed to gain insight from breast cancer survivors’ perspectives on the issues surrounding cancer survivorship and exercise.
Methods: Six focus gro...
Purpose: Weight gain is common in women with breast cancer and is worrisome, as it may affect prognosis and risk of other chronic diseases. This randomized pilot test was conducted to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a weight gain prevention intervention for breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Method:...
s - Cancer Survivorship: Observation to Intervention, National to International, and Research Across the Spectrum of Tertiary, Secondary, and Primary Prevention
• Urinary DIM as a Biomarker of Brassica Vegetable Consumption
• Metformin for Reducing Prostate Cancer Disparity
• Dietary Methyl Donor Depletion Suppresses Intestinal Adenoma
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This study aims to determine the prevalence of physical activity and obesity and their relationship to physical functioning (PF), fatigue, and pain in endometrial cancer survivors.
Surveys were mailed to 200 survivors of endometrial cancer diagnosed within the last 5 years; 61% were returned. Surveys assessed physical activity, height and weight, c...
Many breast cancer survivors experience long term sequelae, including fatigue, decreased physical functioning, pain, and psychological distress. Physical activity can ameliorate these problems, but there is little research on how activity should be performed to be most beneficial. This study explores how dimensions of physical activity (total energ...
Career development awards are important to the professional careers of many junior scientists. Designed to launch researchers as independent scientists earlier in their careers, such grants release them from full schedules of teaching and clinical service, protecting their time for research and publishing. Yet few know how best to embark on this cr...
Stress is associated with many health maladies, including cancers. Exercise is an effective stress-management tool and is important for physical health. The number of Hispanic women who engage in enough exercise is low. Thus, promoting exercise for this population is of critical importance. Individual effectiveness of behavioral interventions can o...
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Background: It has been suggested that sedentary behavior during cancer treatment or effects of the treatment itself may decrease cardiorespiratory fitness in cancer survivors. However, few studies have tested whether cancer survivors actually have impaired cardiorespiratory fitness compared to similarly aged individuals who have not had canc...
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Houston, 2004. Degree granted by College of Education. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-124).
