Project number: 579801-EPP-1-2016-2-IT-SPO-SCP

Programme/ action/ field: Erasmus + Sport

Coordinator: TUCEP  (Italy)

Project duration: 1.01.2017 – 30.06.2018

Project website: www.oncologygames.eu

 

Oncology Games project contributed to the implementation of the European Union’s strategies for improving public health and social inclusion, by promoting the application of European Physical Activity Guidelines in sport activities for oncology patients. 
Project main objective has been to demonstrate that sport helps to deal with oncological disease in a positive way and it could help improve patients’ quality of life. Moreover, with this initiative, the partnership also intended to raise awareness about sport and health issues at European level. 
The project activities lasted 18 months and have been realized in Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Poland and Bulgaria. 
To achieve these objectives, the project provided several informative and preparatory action that culminated, on June 23rd and 24th 2018, with the active involvement of oncological patients in the ONCOLOGY GAMES event: 
• organisation of two international seminars, addressed to about 50 people each and finalised to promote the project idea, objectives, the expected and achieved results. The first seminar has been realised in Perugia (IT) at the beginning of the project, the second one in Rome (IT) at the end of the project activities;
• definition of healthcare guidelines for the promotion of sports activities among oncological patients. These guidelines define the criteria that all the athletes had to satisfy for participating in project activities (and to safely be engaged in sport activities). Oncological patients had to be adult; to do not be athletes; to have Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score equal to 0 and 1, to have a diagnosis of metastatic solid cancer; to have adequate bone marrow, renal and hepatic function; to have produced a written informed consent before they have been enrolled in project activities. In case of bone metastases, the patient had to provide a medical record describing the fracture risk; in case of brain metastases the patient has to provide a medical record describing if they are stable of not - presence of edema, signs of hemorrhage, use of high dose of steroids. The guidelines also included an anamnestic form to be filled both by the athlete and by the reference oncologist; 
• training for coaches, organizers, medical staff and volunteers involved in the implementation of sport activities – transnational training sessions have been planned to share skills, approaches and intervention models at European level, so to ensure participants safety and effectiveness of scheduled activities; more than 30 coaches and medical staff and 60 organisers/volunteers have been involved at European level; 
• training for athletes – national training coaching plans and sessions have been provided to explain the project objectives and to prepare participants for sport activities to be carried out during the games, considering their health and psychological characteristics; 35 oncological patients participated in training at European level; 
• promotion and information on project topics through conferences, seminars and exhibitions that have been designed and implemented with the support of medical and sports experts from partners’ countries (average 5 for each participating countries involving each 20 participants). 

Considering the successful experimentation carried out thank to this project, and the positive feedback of oncological patients, of sport and health organisations contacted for this first project edition, all partners are working to assure a follow up of this experience, by widening both the number of countries and patients to be involved and the different disciplines linked to the games.