Goals and Objectives: Prostate cancer (PCa) survivors, especially ones with a history of hormone therapy (e.g., androgen deprivation therapy and/or androgen receptor blockers), encounter a host of physical, psychosocial, and cognitive symptoms. Exercise can mitigate these symptoms and lower the risk of cancer reoccurrence, however, only approximately 12% of PCa survivors meet recommended levels of exercise. Golf is a multimodal recreational activity that combines physical activities and cognitive tasks in an outdoor green and social environment.
We have demonstrated that the golf program can feasibly and safely improve physical capacity and cognitive function in healthy older adults, with >90% adherence, but it has never been studied in PCa survivors. Also understudied in PCa exercise trials are Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic survivors. The Golf Recreational Exercise for Enhanced Survivorship (GREENS) study aims to introduce a support-group type exercise program that includes pelvic floor exercises, golf-specific warmup exercises, golf practice, and on-course golf play to underrepresented PCa survivors, in order to improve the survivorship experience and the participant’s quality of life (QOL).
GREENS is designed specifically to enhance PCa survivors’ physical and cognitive function, psychosocial health, and overall QOL. The results of the proposed pilot trial will provide the following information: 1) safety, feasibility, and adherence of the program, 2) efficacy of the program to improve health, psychosocial, cognitive, and QOL outcomes, 3) the facilitators and barriers to participation, and 4) pilot data to improve the design of future trials and apply for federal and foundation funding, as well as industrial and community support (e.g. golf courses, golf manufacturers, professional golf communities, etc.)
Overall, our long-term goal is to promote a better understanding of the role of exercise and supportive care in cancer survivorship and to facilitate the development of sustainable therapeutic golf programs that can benefit cancer survivors and their communities.