Introduction Individuals living with and beyond cancer from rural and remote areas lack accessibility to supportive cancer care resources compared with those in urban areas. Exercise is an evidence-based intervention that is a safe and effective supportive cancer care resource, improving physical fitness and function, well-being and quality of life. Thus, it is imperative that exercise oncology programs are accessible for all individuals living with cancer, regardless of geographical location. To improve accessibility to exercise oncology programs, we have designed the EXercise for Cancer to Enhance Living Well (EXCEL) study. Methods and analysis EXCEL is a hybrid effectiveness-implementation study. Exercise-based oncology knowledge from clinical exercise physiologists supports healthcare professionals and community-based qualified exercise professionals, facilitating exercise oncology education, referrals and programming. Recruitment began in September 2020 and will continue for 5 years with the goal to enroll ~1500 individuals from rural and remote areas. All tumour groups are eligible, and participants must be 18 years or older. Participants take part in a 12-week multimodal progressive exercise intervention currently being delivered online. The reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework is used to determine the impact of EXCEL at participant and institutional levels. Physical activity, functional fitness and patient-reported outcomes are assessed at baseline and 12-week time points of the EXCEL exercise intervention. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the Health Research Ethics Board of Alberta. Our team will disseminate EXCEL information through quarterly newsletters to stakeholders, including participants, qualified exercise professionals, healthcare professionals and community networks. Ongoing outreach includes community presentations (eg, support groups, fitness companies) that provide study updates and exercise resources. Our team will publish manuscripts and present at conferences on EXCEL’s ongoing implementation efforts across the 5-year study. Trial registration number NCT04478851.

Barriers to exercise-oncology programs remain for those living with and beyond cancer in rural and remote communities, including geographic isolation and access to programs. The EXercise for Cancer to Enhance Living Well (EXCEL) study was designed to support exercise-oncology implementation in rural and remote communities across Canada. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the first-year reach, adoption, and implementation of the EXCEL study. Reach outcomes included participant characteristics, study enrolment, and referral type (self vs. healthcare-provider [HCP] referral). Adoption outcomes included the number of clinical contacts, trained qualified exercise professionals (QEPs), and QEPs delivering EXCEL exercise classes. Implementation outcomes included retention, adherence, assessment completion rates, and adverse-event reporting. A total of 290 individuals living with cancer enrolled in EXCEL in year one, with an 81.4% retention to the study intervention. Most participants self-referred to EXCEL (75.8%). EXCEL’s HCP network consisted of 163 clinical contacts, and the QEP network included 45 trained QEPs, 22 of whom delivered EXCEL classes. Adherence to the exercise intervention was 78.2%, and only one adverse event (mild) was reported. Fitness assessment and patient-reported outcome completion rates were above 85% pre- and post-intervention. EXCEL has developed HCP and QEP networks supporting exercise referral and online delivery, and the intervention is meeting feasibility markers. These implementation findings will inform the continued gathering of feedback across stakeholders to ensure that best evidence informs best practices.

Breast cancer survivors suffer from disproportionate cardiovascular disease risk compared to age-matched controls. Beyond direct cardiotoxic effects due to treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, breast-cancer-related reductions in skeletal muscle mass, quality and oxidative capacity may further contribute to cardiovascular disease risk in this population by limiting the ability to engage in aerobic exercise—a known promoter of cardiovascular health. Indeed, 20–30% decreases in peak oxygen consumption are commonly observed in breast cancer survivors, which are indicative of exercise intolerance. Thus, breast-cancer-related skeletal muscle damage may reduce exercise-based opportunities for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Resistance training is a potential strategy to improve skeletal muscle health in this population, which in turn may enhance the capacity to engage in aerobic exercise and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

Exercise is safe and effective for those living with and beyond breast cancer, with evidence supporting exercise guidelines, and position statements from international organizations. Despite the clearly recognized benefits of exercise for these individuals, many do not participate or maintain recommended exercise levels throughout the breast cancer continuum, highlighting the lack of translation from research into practice. In addition, discerning how exercise can be tailored to address breast cancer-related impairments, so that individuals are able to participate safely and effectively, has also not been studied extensively. Thus, we propose that implementing exercise screening, triage, and referral pathways across the breast cancer continuum may allow for increased accessibility and adoption among those living with and beyond breast cancer. This paper provides an overview of exercise prescription tailoring for common breast cancer and treatment-related impairments, proposes a simplified screening tool for identifying physical activity and movement-related impairments, and considers how best to channel evidence into practice via proposed implementation pathways that may better connect individuals living with and beyond breast cancer with exercise oncology resources through screening, triage, and referral.