Exercising During & After Cancer

Guest Bio: Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, FACSM

Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, FACSM is a professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Her unique cross-disciplinary training in epidemiology and exercise physiology has resulted in a research career that spans from investigations of molecular level physiologic effects of exercise to examinations of best ways to disseminate efficacious exercise interventions in clinical and community settings.

Dr. Schmitz serves on the expert panel for the YMCA/Lance Armstrong Foundation Cancer Survivorship Collaborative, wrote the cancer survivorship section of the recently published U.S. DHHS report of the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, served on the ad hoc committee that developed the ACSM Cancer Exercise Trainer certification, and is the lead author of the ACSM Roundtable on Exercise for Cancer Survivors, which published guidance for exercise testing and prescription for cancer survivors in July 2010. In 2010, the National Lymphedema Network awarded Dr. Schmitz the Catalyst Award, for being a researcher whose work has stimulated thought, discussion, and debate that leads to improvement in patient care for those with lymphedema. Dr. Schmitz' long term professional goal is to see that all oncologists, fitness trainers, and cancer patients will eventually be as cognizant of the usefulness of exercise for cancer control as we already are for its role in controlling heart disease.