How Virtual Exercise Is Transforming Cancer Survivorship - And What It Means for CETI’s 20,000+ Global OncoVie® Specialists

Cancer survivorship is growing - rapidly. More individuals are living longer than ever after a cancer diagnosis, yet too many are left battling fatigue, muscle loss, neuropathy, lymphedema, bone deterioration, and the mental toll of treatments.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization projects more than 20 million new cancer cases globally in 2025, with total survivors expected to surpass 50 million worldwide by 2030.

This is where exercise becomes medicine - and where the Cancer Exercise Training Institute (CETI) is already leading the world into the future of cancer recovery.

More than three decades ago, Andrea Leonard made it her mission to transform how survivors recover - not by focusing on what cancer takes away, but on what movement can rebuild.

Today, through the Cancer Exercise Training Institute (CETI), she has:

• Trained 20,000+ OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists
• In 60+ countries on six continents
• Across health clubs, hospitals, PT clinics, Pilates studios, and virtual platforms
• Creating the largest worldwide network of cancer-exercise professionals

And this is only the beginning.

Because exercise after cancer is no longer optional - the research now confirms it is essential therapy.

A 2025 single-arm feasibility study conducted by University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (led by Dr. Ryan Marker and colleagues) evaluated a 12-week telehealth exercise program designed specifically for rural cancer survivors experiencing cancer-related fatigue (CRF). Participants (n=16 who initiated the intervention, 15 completed) engaged in:

• Two synchronous videoconference sessions with a certified specialist (initial + midpoint)
• Asynchronous exercise prescriptions (3-5 sessions per week) via a smartphone/app platform
• Symptom monitoring every two weeks (via email surveys)
• Triggered additional live coaching sessions if fatigue improvements lagged
  Results included:
• High adherence: ~97% attendance of scheduled synchronous sessions and ~93% completion of follow-up surveys.
• A statistically significant improvement in fatigue measured by the FACIT-Fatigue scale: mean increase of 11.2 points (SD 6.8, p=.001) — surpassing the minimal clinically important difference.
• At 6-month follow-up (n=13), fatigue levels remained stable (mean change −1.1 points, SD 3.4, p=.29), suggesting durability of effect.
• Feasibility findings: 100% completion of baseline and final assessments, strong recruitment (up to ~5/month), remote delivery with mailed resistance bands and home assessments, validating virtual reach.

The authors concluded that supervised, telehealth oncology-exercise programs are both feasible and potentially efficacious in underserved/rural populations, and recommended scaling to larger efficacy trials.

The 2025 Colorado-based research has shown that virtual, supervised oncology exercise programs:

• Reduce cancer-related fatigue significantly
• Improve balance, gait, and muscular endurance
• Enhance mood, cognition, and daily function
• Boost long-term adherence

Participants don’t have to commute, find parking, or push through exhaustion just to show up. They can attend in pajamas on their couch - and still achieve life-changing results.

This model removes borders. And it opens unprecedented opportunity for every certified OncoVie® specialist as well as any/all health and fitness professionals wanting to join the CETI OncoVie® global network.
Here’s the market we are stepping into together:

• 50+ million survivors globally by 2030
• Only 5–10% currently receive oncology-specific exercise support
• Demand is outpacing supply in every country, in every language

Even with 20,000+ OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists, there simply aren’t enough of us to meet the need.
Meaning:

• This is not a saturated field
• It’s not even close
• The demand is accelerating faster than we are

We are not training to fill “jobs.”
We are training a global mission force

Implications for OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists

1. Validates virtual delivery
This study provides strong proof-of-concept that oncology-exercise specialists can deliver high-quality outcomes remotely - an important shift aligned with the CETI OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists’ global reach.

2. Enables global scalability & access
With evidence supporting virtual delivery in rural Colorado, OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists can confidently extend programming internationally - reaching survivors who lack local services or travel capacity.

3. Demonstrates measurable outcomes
Improvements in fatigue, adherence, and functional metrics provide concrete KPIs that specialists can adopt in their own practice (e.g., FACIT-Fatigue changes, adherence rates, remote assessment tools).

4. Aligns with your curriculum on dual-task and functional training
The model’s combination of resistance + aerobic work, tailored prescriptions, and remote monitoring complements the training from the OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialist framework - reinforcing the need for CETI’s comprehensive training.

5. Commercial and referral opportunities grow
Clinics and oncology teams increasingly accept tele-exercise as credible therapy. OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists trained to deliver evidence-based virtual programs are positioned to collaborate with medical systems, insurers or remote care platforms worldwide, helping more patients and survivors and increasing your client base.

OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists: Leading the New Standard in Survivorship

CETI prepares professionals who:

• Are able to conduct standardized remote-assessment protocols (sit-to-stand, gait speed, balance) and symptom monitoring tools to trainees, as part of the OncoVie® training protocol.

Watch a CETI Online Assessment Video

• Understand surgery types, treatment timelines, precautions, and contraindications
• Train bone density, muscle, lymphatic health, pelvic floor integrity
• Program for neuropathy, fatigue, and cardiotoxicity (as well as other acute and chronic side-effects of treatments and surgery)
• Can deliver safely in-person OR virtually

And thanks to virtual programming, you can:

• Serve clients anywhere in the world
• Build sustainable remote businesses
• Partner with clinics and tele-health teams
• Scale impact without burnout

When survivors can’t come to a gym?
We go to them.
This is how we change survivorship forever.