Patients recovering from lung cancer surgery and participating in a recent study conducted by a researcher in the MSU College of Nursing are being given video games to help with the recovery.
After lung cancer surgery, patients at Spectrum Health, in Grand Rapids, Mich., participating in the study leave the hospital to find a Nintendo Wii installed in their home to be used five days a week for six weeks.
Dr. Amy Hoffman, nurse researcher for the MSU College of Nursing and principal investigator for the study, said patients perform various exercises, keeping it fun and interesting at the same time.
“It distracts them from their other symptoms,” Hoffman said. “It’s hard for a lot of them to go home and walk around.”
Carrie Heeter, professor of telecommunication, information studies and media, said in an email that the study is a great way to use video games.
“The researcher uses games to transform a difficult, often uncomfortable yet important recovery activity of regularly attempting to breathe deeply into a game,” Heeter said. “Breathing with the Wii transfers attention to game play rather than to how it feels to breathe.”
Hoffman said there are currently no rehabilitation centers available for people facing cancer-related fatigue.
“(Lung cancer patients have) fatigue that cannot be reduced (using) normal ways to reduce fatigue,” said Hoffman.
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