How One CrossFit Program Is Transforming Cancer Recovery — 300 Survivors and Counting
It all began when Dr. Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer observed a problem: a lack of physical activity resources for cancer survivors after treatment.
- Patients were being discharged from treatment but weren’t given guidance or support regarding physical activity, even though research consistently shows that exercise can significantly improve survival outcomes, explained Beebe-Dimmer, a Professor of Oncology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and a CrossFit Level 2 coach.
So Beebe-Dimmer partnered with David Finlay, the owner of CrossFit in the D in Detroit, MI, and launched CAPABLE (“Cross-Training and Physical Activity: A Better Life Experience”) in 2018, a program that examined the benefits of CrossFit and cancer recovery.
The CAPABLE Story
Sponsored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, CAPABLE began as a clinical trial that enrolled participants in a 12-week CrossFit program.
- The trial was successful; word began to spread, and today there are eight CAPABLE performance sites across Michigan.
Over the past 7 years, more than 300 cancer survivors have completed the 12-week program, with many subsequently becoming full-time CrossFit members at various affiliates.
The Results
Beebe-Dimmer reported that participants in the CAPABLE program have experienced significant benefits, including increased lean body mass, improved metabolic health, reduced aches and pains, and improved quality of life.
One of Beebe-Dimmer’s most notable recent findings is that CrossFit improves sleep quality and reduces insomnia among cancer survivors. She hopes these results will soon be published as an academic paper.
- “And the most profound thing, to me, is that we’re seeing these significant and clinically meaningful improvements in nearly all of our outcomes of interest over just 12 weeks, which is a really short time frame,” Beebe-Dimmer said.
She added, “Greg Glassman gave us the playbook more than a decade ago, and we’ve taken it and run with it. CrossFit is medicine.”
Beebe-Dimmer’s current challenge is to address and remove barriers to participation in CAPABLE and similar programs to “create lifelong behavior change and broaden our reach,” she said.
In light of this, Beebe-Dimmer’s next goals are two-fold:
- To double the number of facilities that offer the CAPABLE program in the next few years.
- To secure medical insurance companies’ support for covering the cost of the program, as they will be “the biggest beneficiaries with the improvements in patient outcomes,” Beebe-Dimmer explained.
She added: “This is going to be a big focus for me in the next few years [and can be] a real game changer.”
The Big Picture
From physical to mental health, anyone who commits to CrossFit can attest to the benefits it offers.
Of course, CAPABLE’s sample size is still small, with just over 300 cancer survivors, and more research is needed, but it’s clear from the program that CrossFit’s potential may extend to improving the lives of those who have survived cancer.
Donate to CAPABLE here.
