ACE Cancer Exercise Specialist study guide
ACE Cancer Exercise Specialist · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The ACE Cancer Exercise Specialist credential is a specialist qualification for fitness professionals who want to coach people living with and beyond cancer. It is not an entry-level certificate: it assumes you already know how to train generally and now need oncology-specific competence. The ACE Cancer Exercise Specialist study guide has 6 sections and about 1,671 words.
01Cancer Fundamentals: Pathology, Staging, and Medical Management
Pathology describes the tissue of origin, histologic subtype, grade (degree of differentiation), and molecular features. Staging describes anatomic spread.
269 words, about 1 min02Effects of Cancer and Cancer Treatments on Physiological and Functional Capacity
Impairments come from the tumor itself (mass effect, obstruction, bleeding, pain, cachexia) and from treatment. Cardiotoxicity: anthracyclines cause dose-dependent injury that may appear early or years later; trastuzumab typically causes reversible dysfunction during therapy; chest radiation accelerates coronary and valvular disease over decades.
283 words, about 1 min03Pre-Exercise Screening, Medical Clearance, and Risk Stratification
Screening is not one form; it is a structured history plus targeted measurement. Cover cancer type, stage, and phase; current and prior treatments; comorbidities (cardiac, pulmonary, metabolic, orthopedic); medications (anticoagulants, steroids, antihypertensives); symptoms (dyspnea, pain, dizziness, swelling); recent labs (complete blood count, metabolic panel, cardiac function where relevant); bone health and metastatic sites; lymphedema risk; ostomies, ports, and catheters; and falls history.
308 words, about 2 min04Exercise Assessment and Program Design Across the Cancer Continuum
Design follows treatment phase and goal, not a template. Prehabilitation before surgery or neoadjuvant therapy builds aerobic capacity and strength to reduce postoperative complications and functional decline.
288 words, about 1 min05Safety Considerations, Contraindications, and Symptom Management During Exercise
Absolute contraindications include acute febrile illness or suspected infection, unstable angina, decompensated heart failure, uncontrolled arrhythmia, severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, acute pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, and severe untreated anemia. Relative contraindications require judgment and modification: uncontrolled hypertension, electrolyte abnormalities, high-grade neuropathy, marked thrombocytopenia, bone pain from metastases, and recent chest radiotherapy.
242 words, about 1 min06Behavior Change, Psychosocial Support, and Interprofessional Collaboration
Most survivors do not meet activity guidelines; adherence depends on behavior-change competence, not program elegance. Know the transtheoretical model (precontemplation through maintenance), self-efficacy, social cognitive theory, and self-determination theory (autonomy, competence, relatedness).
281 words, about 1 min