Impulsion by Bordet: the team of athlete patients

Press release (30/05/2022) 

Impulsion by Bordet: the team of athlete patients

30 May 2022 – This 29 May, at the starting line for the Brussels 20km, among the crowd of runners, there was a very special team: Impulsion by Bordet. All members of this team are or were patients at the Jules Bordet Institute, the reference centre for integrated cancer care in Belgium. At the impulsion of oncologists and physiotherapists, they have been training for months to rise to this sporting challenge and show that, despite illness, practicing a physical activity is possible or even essential.

Sport as a weapon in overcoming illness
The support team consists of physiotherapists S. Darc, F. Mulkens and S. Urlacher plus the two oncologists L. Polastro and L. Buisseret. The project's success is a way for the support team and patients to dispel the prejudices surrounding cancer by showing that practising a physical activity is possible or even essential. The benefits of sport for patients undergoing treatment are many as it reduces certain side effects of chemotherapy and hormonotherapy such as tiredness, anxiety, cognitive problems and arthralgia (joint pain, etc.). Practicing a sport after treatment also has a positive effect on survival and quality of life and reduces the risk of relapse. In addition to these direct effects on patient well-being, this challenge also helps patients discover or rediscover the pleasures of sport. An activity they will want to continue beyond the Brussels 20 km.

Personalised group training
The physiotherapists play a very important role in this project. They provide personalised support for the team members adapted to allow for very varied profiles in terms of age, type of cancer and whether they are new to running or seasoned runners. To begin training in total safety each patient first underwent an ergospirometry test. This stress test evaluates physical capacities and checks that there are no anomalies. Once given the go ahead, training then began. Sandrine Darc, physiotherapist at the Institute, proposed group training sessions two or three times a week. The team members met either at the Bois de la Cambre or the Hippodrome in Boitsfort where they ran together. The sense of being part of a group was a major motivator for progress. As most of the patients had never run before, their development has been impressive. To prepare for the running conditions they will face on the big day, they first ran a number of other races, including the ULB 10 km, the Woluwe 15km and the Uccle 10 km. To measure the improvement in the runners' physical condition, an ergospirometry test will also be carried out at the end of the process.

Running to boost the Institute's projects
Thanks to the Impulsion by Bordet runners and their supporters, funds have been raised for the RESTART programme, the Institute's post-breast cancer support project. Thanks to these donations, oncologists and physiotherapists will also be able to make physical activities available at the Day Clinic.
The Impulsion by Bordet team and their supporters look forward to seeing you on 29 May at the Brussels 20 km.
To find out more about the project: https://www.bordet.be/en/objective-20-km

Press Contacts (Institut Jules Bordet)

• Clara Mercier
  • GSM : +32 474 07 66 01
  • E-mail : clara.mercier@bordet.be