In recent years, the fitness industry in Europe and the United States has been undergoing a profound ecosystem restructuring. Gyms are no longer merely places for young fitness enthusiasts to work out and snap photos for social media; they are gradually evolving into front-line hubs for supportive healthcare, chronic disease management, and post-operative rehabilitation.
Among these developments, Exercise Oncology is emerging as a standout track where the global fitness industry intersects deeply with the medical sector.
News Reports: “Fitness Services” × “Cancer Populations” in the US and UK
Over the past couple of days, I consecutively read news reports from both the US and the UK regarding collaborations between fitness service providers and cancer patient groups. These reports highlight that in developed countries overseas, cross-sector partnerships between commercial gyms, medical institutions, and charitable organizations to serve non-traditional fitness populations are receiving increasing attention.
United States: HFA Partners with American Cancer Society to Launch Dedicated Grant Program
On July 30, 2026 (as reported by OncoDaily), the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) announced a nationwide strategic alliance with the American Cancer Society (ACS) and The HFA Foundation.
Background & Pain Points: There are currently more than 18 million cancer survivors in the US, and nearly 70% of patients experience side effects during treatment or recovery. However, the market severely lacks fitness professionals holding specialized qualifications in exercise oncology.
Two-Pronged Strategy: Beyond launching a nationwide educational campaign, the alliance established the Exercise Oncology Grants Program, funded by ACS and administered by The HFA Foundation. This initiative provides direct financial grants to selected high-quality commercial fitness facilities for staff certification, customized cancer exercise curriculum development, and standardized service implementation, while establishing a structured learning network to share best practices.
United Kingdom: Move Against Cancer Partners with PureGym to Extend Community Reach
According to a report by the UK fitness industry outlet HCM (July 30, 2026), Move Against Cancer—a charity co-founded by oncologist Dr. Lucy Gossage and cancer patient Gemma Hillier-Moses—is actively seeking new partners across the fitness sector.
Commercial Synergy: Dr. Gossage clearly noted: “The fitness industry has the expertise, equipment, and infrastructure for exercise. We bring the understanding of the cancer journey and the limitations—physical and psychological—many people with cancer face.”
Practical Implementation: The charity is collaborating with PureGym, one of the UK’s largest fitness chains (offering free memberships to young cancer survivors who complete the charity’s bespoke movement program). Additionally, it hosts over 130 “5k Your Way” community events at UK parkrun sites every week, launching roughly three new groups every month with a focus on reaching ethnically diverse and underserved communities.
Business Perspective: An Overlooked “Essential Need” Group and a Huge Blue Ocean Market
From a commercial market viewpoint, cancer survivors are by no means a weak consumer group lacking purchasing power; rather, they represent a massive, highly loyal demographic with an essential demand for exercise.
Massive User Base and Long-Term Willingness to Pay: With the growing adoption of early screening and breakthroughs in targeted therapies and immunotherapy, cancer is increasingly becoming a “manageable chronic disease.” Patients’ survival periods with tumors are significantly extended, creating a huge market for long-term health management.
Extremely High User Retention and Trust Barriers: Traditional fitness facilities frequently suffer from the commercial pain point of high member churn rates after membership purchase. In contrast, cancer patients possess a profound physical and psychological drive to improve quality of life and reduce recurrence risks. Once a fitness institution provides safe, professional, and trustworthy guidance, user compliance and renewal rates will far exceed those of the general population.
Severe Supply-Demand Mismatch: On one side is a rapidly growing demand for exercise rehabilitation; on the other is a vast void in market supply. Very few commercial gyms employ trainers who understand oncology physical therapy, and most medical institutions lack the capacity to deliver long-term offline exercise instruction. This represents a classic, highly promising blue ocean market characterized by a structural disconnect between supply and demand.
Specificity and Scientific Benefits of Exercise Training for Cancer Patients
Unlike training for the general population aimed at muscle gain or fat loss, exercise for cancer populations is a rigorous, cross-disciplinary field grounded in evidence-based medicine.
Exercise as a “Scientific Prescription” in Cancer Treatment
Clinical research confirms that scientific exercise interventions can significantly alleviate cancer-related fatigue (CRF), reduce lymphedema, improve chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, slow bone loss, and effectively suppress anxiety and depression.
More importantly, moderate exercise can optimize the tumor microenvironment, increase patient tolerance to chemotherapy or immunotherapy, and indirectly improve health prognoses—achieving the ultimate goal: not only surviving, but living with quality!
Extreme Specificity of Cancer Exercise Training
Exercise for cancer populations must never blindly adopt standard high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or routine aerobic/strength workouts.
Its unique requirements include:
High Individualization: Dynamic assessments are necessary based on the specific cancer type (e.g., breast cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer), disease stage (perioperative, chemo/radiation phase, maintenance phase), bone metastasis risks, cardiotoxicity indicators, and ostomy considerations.
Priority on Risk Management: Trainers must know how to interpret basic blood counts and physiological medical parameters, understand cancer-specific contraindications, and monitor physiological indicators in real time during workouts.
Personal Reflections: The Exercise Dilemma for Cancer Patients in China
Most readers following this platform are peers from the fitness and fitness equipment industries. Many of you know that I have been in the fitness industry for over 20 years and subsequently founded FitGearSource (Fitness Equipment Encyclopedia) as an industry platform.
However, many friends may not know that I have also been working closely with cancer patient communities for over 8 years.
In 2017, when a family member was diagnosed with a rare hematologic cancer, I initiated and founded the China Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia (WM) Patient Organization during the process of seeking medical treatment and advice. Soon after, I connected with the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF) to conduct patient education, science communication, and patient support activities. Today, our organization stays in daily contact with over a thousand patients.
In 2024, I had the honor of joining the Integrated Rehabilitation Professional Committee for Hematologic Oncology of the China Anti-Cancer Association.
Through years of serving patients, I have deeply felt the gap between China and developed countries in this field, and I have witnessed the painful realities faced by Chinese patients:
- Massive Patient Base in China: According to the latest statistics from the National Cancer Center, new cancer cases in China have exceeded 5 million per year, and the cumulative population of survivors living with cancer represents an even more staggering figure.
- The “Afraid to Move” and “No One to Teach” Dilemma: In reality, the vast majority of Chinese patients long to restore physical strength and return to society through exercise; however, they are constrained by traditional concepts of “bed rest to preserve life,” or struggle to find professional trainers knowledgeable about oncology populations. “Hospitals handle the medical treatment, but patients don’t know how to move once they return home” has become a common hardship for countless families affected by cancer.
- Shortage of Talent and Frameworks: Similar to many developing markets, China remains in its earliest infancy regarding the cultivation of interdisciplinary “healthcare-fitness” professionals and commercial facility implementation, resulting in a substantial talent vacuum.
Cross-Sector Call to Action: Multi-Party Collaboration for Social Value and Commercial Win-Wins
In 2018 and 2019, I traveled to the US for two consecutive years to attend the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF) Educational Conference. The conference holds a traditional and special activity—an outdoor jog.
When people of different ethnicities run side-by-side down the busy streets, passersby would hardly guess that this vibrant group consists of fellow travelers fighting cancer.
The recent practices in the US (HFA + ACS) and the UK (Move Against Cancer) have offered me valuable insights and food for thought.
Combining my experience in the fitness equipment industry with my years in cancer patient advocacy, I am reminded of a recent buzzword in the fitness space: Longevity.
Allow me to add: Cancer populations deserve Longevity too!
In China, we can also advocate for and drive similar cross-sector collaborations between the “fitness movement” and the “oncology field,” just as seen in European and American countries.
To this end, I would like to propose a few initiative ideas, and I welcome insights and discussions from visionaries across industries:
Deepen Interdisciplinary Research and Standard Setting: Call upon clinical oncologists, rehabilitation specialists, and sports scientists to join forces in conducting localized clinical research on exercise interventions for high-incidence cancers in China, progressively developing “Oncology Exercise Rehabilitation Guidelines” and professional trainer certification standards.
Build a “Hospital-Fitness-Patient” Integrated Mechanism: Encourage commercial fitness chains, industry associations, medical institutions, sports experts, and patient organizations (PoPs) in China to establish regular channels for dialogue and exploration. Test a closed-loop framework: Hospital issues exercise recommendations → Professional fitness center provides grounded exercise execution → Patient organization delivers ongoing educational support and accompaniment.
Pioneer Demonstration Exercise Oncology Programs: Encourage forward-looking commercial fitness chain brands and facilities to pilot dedicated “Oncology Exercise Rehabilitation Zones/Courses,” taking the lead in transitioning toward healthcare and building a differentiated core competitive advantage.
Exercise services tailored for cancer populations are far more than a health advocacy project for a specialized demographic; they represent a major commercial opportunity to generate new economic value across the fitness and healthcare industries.
Finally, I warmly invite relevant organizations, medical and sports experts, and entrepreneurs in the fitness industry to connect, exchange ideas, and explore possibilities together!
