PHOTO: Rosanne Briand (left) participated in an exercise program at the QEII’s Physical Activity and Cancer (PAC) Lab following a stage-four cancer diagnosis in late 2023. Rosanne credits clinical exercise physiologist Tom Christensen (right) for building her strength and getting her out of a wheelchair during her cancer care journey.
PHOTO CREDIT: QEII Foundation
Rosanne Briand is tired today, but that’s because she had her two-year-old granddaughter over for her first sleepover.
“I love being with my grandkids. I have three of them. The little one I have now, I see her whenever I want,” Rosanne says. “She’s a great joy to me. Every day I get up and think about her or talk to her. It changes my perspective on life.”
Rosanne’s perspective changed radically in the fall of 2023 with a shocking stage-four cancer diagnosis. Her first clue came when she sneezed, causing extreme pain in her back and ribs. When the pain wouldn’t subside and her movement was affected, Rosanne went to the emergency department. A scan revealed a mass in her right lung. She began immediate cancer treatment.
She soon found herself feeling weak, losing weight and strength, and having difficulty eating and sleeping. Rosanne was not able to stand up from a seated position without using her hands and couldn’t walk very far or on her own. It was a stark contrast to the strength and health she’d long enjoyed.
“I ended up in a wheelchair. And the longer you don’t move, the harder it gets to move,” she says. “You’re getting pretty frail at that point. You can’t beat cancer if you’re that frail.”
Rosanne’s doctor told her about the Physical Activity and Cancer (PAC) Lab. The QEII Health Sciences Centre lab — an exercise space at the hospital — helps patients get stronger during their cancer treatment with supervised exercise programs that are guided by research.
“You just have to do it,” Rosanne says. “I don’t know if I’d be here, honestly, without the exercise program. I’ve come a long way.”
In January 2024, she met clinical exercise physiologist Tom Christensen at the PAC Lab. They started meeting through video twice a week for 12 weeks for guided exercise support. Rosanne says the convenience made it much easier to stick to the basic workout routine, which rebuilt her lost muscles. She also likes going into the lab, where she can use exercise equipment she doesn’t have at home.
The lab’s website, ThePacLab.com, details the range of work they offer. The program welcomes all cancer patients and there are specific studies for people recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, glioblastoma and muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
To be eligible, patients must have a cancer diagnosis and be at least 18 years old. Patients can self-refer or be referred by a physician and can join the program before, during, or after treatment. Participants start with a fitness assessment to help shape their exercise program.
Tom builds each program to meet the patient at their own starting line. The exercises are all designed to help people mitigate fitness declines during treatment and to maintain or (re)gain the fitness needed for a high quality of life. For some participants this includes exercises to help them stand up, move without pain, and carry things like groceries. Other participants do exercises to prepare them for carrying hay bales or rock climbing. From the most fit to the most frail, everyone can benefit from the exercise program.
One recently completed study at the lab focused on breast cancer and patients who were taking a cancer drug known to harm the heart. Those results are currently being analyzed. Another study looked at “distress scores,” which refers to how much depression, anxiety and stress a person experiences. Participants who started the exercise program with above normal distress scores, scored in the normal range after the program.
“It’s very consistent: people are getting a physical health benefit and also a mental health benefit from the exercise program,” Tom says. “Exercise is not part of standard care yet. We hope this is where our healthcare system is moving.”
He says the lab’s results so far have reinforced other studies, showing a benefit to cancer patients from working out. The fitness is focused on function and is designed to make your daily life better.
“Exercise is both safe and beneficial throughout the entire cancer continuum,” Tom says. “People should be exercising.”
Rosanne worked her way out of the wheelchair. She says she’s stronger today than she was before she got the diagnosis. The cancer treatment worked and she is healthy today. She has continued her connection and programming with the PAC Lab, while sticking with her targeted therapy.
“They know what you’re dealing with, so the exercises are geared for you,” she says of the lab.
Rosanne credits Tom and the team at the PAC lab for giving her life back. She has returned to work, teaching part time, and is enjoying life with her family.