A Personal Reflection by Petra Thaller – Cancer Survivor, Founder & President of OAC
What Does Quality of Life Mean?
That’s exactly the question I asked last week in Warsaw at the 1st Cancer Mission Fair of the EU funded Project ECHoS in Warsaw, Poland. According to its organisers, ECHoS aims to lay the foundation for a future European network of National Cancer Mission Hubs (NCMHs) – aligned with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. It’s a project with real impact – and I was genuinely pleased to be invited to join the Quality of Life panel.
Quality of Life – almost everyone has something to say about it.
But I kept wondering: What does it actually mean? What do we really mean when we talk about Quality of Life? Every person I asked gave a different answer. Talking about quality of life is one thing – understanding it is another. In the end, it’s a good exercise for everyone to reflect on how we define quality of life for ourselves – and to accept others’ definitions without judgement. Quality of Life is diverse.
“The Quality of Life panel discussion session was an inspiring and thought-provoking event. What I took from this session, is the mandate that we, researchers, educators, health professionals and ordinary citizens, must always keep Quality of Life in the spotlight and promote sustainable impactful solutions to the challenges faced by cancer patients through the implementation of the National Cancer Mission Hubs.”
– Eleni Tolma, Head of the Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School
For me as the founder of Outdoor Against Cancer (OAC) and a cancer survivor
quality of life means independence, freedom, peace – and a conscious reduction in consumption. But above all, it means being physically active. Physical activity in nature – in the mountains or in the water – is my number one factor for personal wellbeing. And that’s something I want to share with others, especially with people affected by cancer, their families and friends. Because in this case, despite all our differences, I’m convinced: physical activity helps everyone.
That’s why, for OAC, physical activity is a cornerstone of cancer care – and a key factor in Quality of Life. At the Quality of Life panel, I had the opportunity to present our initiative and especially our OAC-Training, which equips both healthcare professionals and qualified trainers with the tools to support people affected by cancer through exercise.
Together with exercise physiologists and medical professionals, we developed the 4×4 Training, a revolutionary approach that helps patients regain strength, confidence, and motivation – three essential components of long-term Quality of Life. The training improves physical performance, especially aerobic endurance and muscle strength, and has proven to be a highly effective strategy for improving cardiovascular and metabolic health. It enhances oxygen delivery to muscles, increases VO₂max, and improves mitochondrial density and function, muscle oxygen extraction, and insulin sensitivity.
But for OAC, it’s not just about physiology – it’s also about people.
Our training brings people together: outdoors, in parks, in groups. It’s designed to be low-threshold – in terms of time, effort, and cost. And our strong focus on community ensures that the training is inclusive and empowering, measurably improving treatment outcomes and quality of life.
The 4×4 Training is evidence-based and scalable – ready for widespread implementation.
It can be integrated into national education strategies for rehabilitation, aftercare, and prevention. We are also working on a new digital training platform, Introduction to Exercise in Cancer, to reach patients and professionals across Europe. This combination of in-person and digital formats makes OAC a strong implementation partner for NCMHs that want to integrate physical activity into standard cancer care.
OAC’s understanding – and ultimate goal – fits seamlessly with ECHoS’ vision: We want to make physical activity a standard element of cancer therapy. Because if we truly want to improve quality of life during and after cancer, we must empower both patients and professionals. And our scalable 4×4 Training does exactly that.
I’m excited to see where ECHoS goes from here. From my side, I will absolutely continue to support this valuable project.
“As an organizer, seeing so many diverse projects come together was inspiring, but what truly moved me was the human aspect that Outdoor Against Cancer (OAC) and Petra brought into the room. She reminded us what we really mean when we talk about quality of life, it’s not just trials, policies, and technologies. It’s about the people we aim to serve: survivors and citizens. Co-creation must not be a buzzword, but a guiding principle, and in ECHoS, it is. It lies at the heart of our work and of the Cancer Mission Hubs themselves. Meaningful collaboration with the targeted communities, especially survivors, is essential if we are to genuinely improve quality of life in cancer care.”
– Abdelrahman Taha, Section of Hygiene and Public Health at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
