Transforming Lives

A University of Northern Colorado professor and her doctor (Dr. Susan Carter) faced a dilemma 12 years ago. Sport and exercise science professor Carole Schneider experienced debilitating fatigue after undergoing treatment for cancer. They suspected moderate exercise could make Schneider feel better. At the time, little or no research had been published about dealing with the physical side effects of cancer treatment. So, Schneider and Carter had to break new ground—Schneider experimenting with what kind of exercise increased her mobility and energy, and Carter overseeing this innovative treatment for cancer-related fatigue.

This is how the Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehabilitation Institute was established. The institute started in 1996 as part of the School of Sports and Exercise Science in UNC’s College of Natural and Health Sciences with Schneider as the director of education and research and Carter as the medical director. By 2003, the institute—the only facility of its kind in the country—moved into the Ben Nighthorse Campbell Center, a state-of-the-art exercise rehabilitation center built on the university campus with a $2.2 million federal grant.

The institute has a threefold mission:

• To enhance the quality of life of cancer patients through exercise rehabilitation.
• To conduct research on the effects of exercise on those recovering from cancer.
• To teach students and professionals about this revolutionary treatment.

The overall goal is to see this kind of cancer rehabilitation spread throughout the country. “It’s a tremendous place,” says Carter. “Our reward is helping people. They truly come out of here feeling stronger and happier.”

Transforming Cancer Patients

The American Cancer Society estimates that, in 2007, 1.4 million people in the United States were diagnosed with cancer and 560,000 people died of the disease. Although the incidence of cancer is increasing, the mortality rates for certain kinds of cancer have decreased. More people are surviving cancer and living years after their diagnosis and treatment.

Bob Hessler of Greeley is one of the cancer survivors benefiting from the RMCRI program. The 61-year-old had a stroke shortly after he retired in 2002. Not long after that, he was diagnosed with cancer. When he came to the institute three years ago, he had his doctor’s prognosis in his head: “You’ll probably never walk again, and you probably won’t be able to use your left arm.”

“I thought, ‘Well, that isn’t going to happen,’” Hessler says. Hessler learned to walk again. After three years working with exercise trainers at the institute, he can walk 3 mph on a treadmill. He still can’t use his left arm, but that doesn’t seem to bother him. “My goal is to go fishing next year,” he says. “I’m just going to learn how to do everything with my right arm.”

Upon entering the institute, clients undergo a physical examination and an assessment of what they can do physically— their flexibility, endurance and strength, among other things. Once the assessment is complete, Schneider, Carter and Lisa Sprod, the institute’s clinical coordinator, prescribe an exercise treatment program for each client. The patients then work with cancer exercise specialists, most of them students working on bachelor’s and master’s degrees in exercise physiology, to implement the programs. The patients come to the center two or three times a week and do an hour of exercise under a trainer’s supervision.

Medical insurance doesn’t cover the treatment. If they want to continue to come after the free three-month research study, clients pay based on their income—as little as $7.50 a month to as much as $50 a month. The exercise varies from person to person, but it’s usually a whole-body workout on a variety of machines, including treadmills, exercise bikes and weight machines. The critical issue is that the workout be moderate. Excessive exercise diminishes the immune system in healthy people, so it’s even more important for cancer patients to exercise in moderation, Schneider says.

For some, the exercise is the first they’ve ever done in their lives. “Before I came here, I thought my place was at my desk, and I never wanted to move from it,” John Bromley says with a laugh. Bromley, a UNC professor emeritus and director of the President’s Leadership Program, was diagnosed with prostate and lung cancer in 2000. He says the institute has been his saving grace as he has accepted the reality of his illness, which is terminal. “Sometimes I’d come in and all I could do was talk to my trainer,” he says. “But the exercise relaxes me. I actually feel worlds better now than I did 10 or 15 years ago.”

Clinical research at the institute shows exercise has a significant impact on patients physically and mentally. Schneider says both are important. “Cancer patients usually don’t want to sit around and talk about their cancer,” she says. “They want to do something to get better. The disease is so scary that they feel like they’ve completely lost control of their lives. Coming here gives them some control over their own bodies again.”

Transforming Students and Professionals

The institute is also changing the lives of its student exercise trainers. Before Justin Eckstrom came to work at the institute, his grandmother had recently died of complications from hip surgery, which stemmed from a diagnosis of cancer. Eckstrom, a master’s student in exercise physiology, says he wasn’t sure how to relate to his clients. His fear quickly turned into friendship. “They all come in here with such an upbeat attitude, and they’re so open,” he says. “You become really good friends with them.”

Sprod, a doctoral student and clinical coordinator for the institute, says she used to want to become a professor. Now she wants to work with cancer survivors. “It’s easy as a student to get overwhelmed with coursework,” Sprod says. “Working with cancer patients puts it all in perspective.”

In addition, the institute works to turn professionals from across the globe into advocates for the use of exercise in cancer rehabilitation. To this end, the institute sponsors a summer workshop where medical and exercise professionals are trained to use exercise as a complementary therapy to rehabilitate cancer patients. Some attendees have even started exercise programs in their own cities. UNC graduates as well have gone on to start similar programs at hospitals and recreation centers nationwide.

Schneider and Carter have dreams for the future of the RMCRI. They’d like to involve more graduate students in all disciplines in the program, hire a physical therapist and have paid fellows doing research. All of that would require more funding. The university houses the institute, but the institute’s $75,000 annual budget comes entirely from grants.

Most people find out about the institute through word of mouth. The institute doesn’t advertise because the staff couldn’t handle more than the 70 new and continuing clients per semester. According to Schneider, “the institute is the best-kept secret in Greeley and at UNC.”

Schneider and Carter say patients like Bromley and Hessler keep them going. Bromley says each hour he spends at the center is an hour his mind isn’t on his disease. “This is an idyllic existence here, and people who have cancer need an idyllic existence,” he says. “It’s more than a building. It’s a community center, and it’s very much a home.”