Here you can find the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle Intervention Replication Manual. This Replication Manual was developed within the EU-funded PanCareFollowUp project to support the wider use of the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle Intervention across Europe.

What is the PanCareFollowUp project?

PanCareFollowUp was an EU-funded project looking at how to best deliver Survivorship Care to survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer in Europe. One of the aims of PanCareFollowUp was to develop the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle Intervention, a person-centred, online lifestyle coaching program to support survivors in improving lifestyle habits.

What is the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle Intervention?

The PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle Intervention is a state-of-the-art, person-centred approach to lifestyle support for survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancer.

The PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle intervention comprises the steps shown in the figure below. If a survivor is overweight or exercises too little, the healthcare provider invites the survivor to participate in the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle intervention. If the survivor is interested and motivated to improve their lifestyle, a lifestyle coach schedules an intake session with the survivor. This is a certified lifestyle coach, educated in childhood cancer and the specific barriers that survivors may face when trying to improve their lifestyle.

During the intake, the coach and survivor discuss which personal lifestyle goal the survivor would like to achieve in 4 months time. This goal can be anything related to improving weight, diet, or the amount of exercise. In the 4 months to come, the survivor tries to achieve this goal and is guided by the lifestyle coach during 1-6 individual, online sessions. The number and timing of the session depends on the preference of the survivor. When the 4 month coaching period ends, the survivor and coach reflect on the progress that was made and a reflection session is scheduled in another 4 months time. This reflection session is used to discuss the survivor’s ability to keep up the improvements that were made.

Why has the Lifestyle intervention been developed?

Over recent decades, the five-year survival rates of childhood cancer in Europe have increased substantially, from 30% in the 1970s to 80% in early 2000. Today, the European population of childhood cancer survivors, estimated as at least 300,000, is rising by about 12,000 survivors per year.

A cancer diagnosis during childhood can cause a broad range of physical and psychosocial health risks later in life (late effects). In addition to the need for lifelong monitoring of these late effects, survivors can possibly reduce their health risks by adopting healthy lifestyle behaviours. For more information on a healthy lifestyle, please access: PLAIN summary about health promotion.

Improving lifestyle habits such as eating healthy, regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight can be difficult and participation in a lifestyle program can be time consuming. Therefore, the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle Intervention was developed to be delivered online, preventing the need for survivors to travel back and forth.

Future implementation of the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle intervention in new settings

Ensuring that the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle intervention is used in the real world after the project ends is paramount to achieve enduring improvements to Survivorship Care. Recognising that implementation is a complex process, requiring more than just development of the intervention components and materials.

Disclaimer

PanCare strives to provide accurate and complete information that is up-to-date as of the date of publication.

No warranty or representation, expressed or implied, is made concerning the accuracy, reliability, completeness, relevance, or timeliness of this information.

The PanCare materials are free to use for anyone aiming to inform about late effects and long-term survivorship care. However, no financial advantage may be achieved. All communication should reference PanCare and link to the PanCare website.

Contact

If you have any questions about the PanCareFollowUp Lifestyle Intervention Replication Manual you can contact PanCare (info@pancare.eu).