Table 3.

Facilitators to exercise programme

	Subtheme		Meaningful quotes	Participants
Willpower	Strong will to overcome current difficulties	1	I think it’s important to have willpower. I keep getting a fever and had one this morning, but once the fever went down, I was determined to exercise. I think willpower makes a big difference.	3–6
	Focusing on positive thoughts	2	Why me? I tried so hard not to complain because I am sick now and I cannot change this fact. No one in my family had cancer. What’s more, multiple myeloma is incurable. Although I had a hard time, I thought to myself that it could have been worse.	3–6
	Goal-oriented attributes	3	The problem with a lot of patients is that they spend time self-pitying, trying to figure out why they got sick. That’s not the point. If you’re already sick, you should focus on what to do in order to get better. For me, exercise is one of the things I can do to achieve my goal of getting better. This is my goal, and I should act accordingly.	3–6
Easy and simple exercise	Safe content	4	I am scared to move around a lot because there were two occasions when I almost fell. It made me realise that I shouldn’t move around like I used to before I became sick. However, basic stretching in this program was easy to do, so it was not burdensome. If the exercise program is difficult, patients will not want to do it.	1–3
	Simple content	5	It’s complicated to memorise the sequence of movements. If the content is simple, patients will be more compliant.	1, 2, 3, 6
	Mastery of movement	6	In my case, exercise movements were easy to learn because I used to take Pilates lessons. The movements were similar and easy for me to follow. It’s annoying and troublesome to do something unfamiliar.	3–6
Convincing explanation	Specific explanation about the importance of exercise	7	What motivates me is that I must exercise to eat something. I heard that exercise helps the organs function. They told me to exercise to alleviate the diarrhoea that occurs due to the high dose of chemotherapy. The only way out is to exercise—ha ha. So, I exercise. They told me that exercise may help the digestive system. I thought I should exercise for the organs to become more active. I think I should move around more.	1, 2, 3, 6
	Success stories of other patients	8	I have already experienced what other patients are now experiencing. I think that is why they seem to trust my story. When I describe the benefits of exercise to other patients, my experience may be a source of motivation. I think it is easier for them to understand.	1, 3, 5, 6
	Recommendation of oncologist	9	This morning my professor (medical oncologist) told me that I should exercise more. Hearing that made me think that I should exercise more. I forgot the exercise order but tried to follow the basic movements by looking at the handout.	1, 2, 3, 6
Supervised support from the exercise therapists	Regular visits	10	Visits by the therapists made it easier to perform the exercise. I think it was really helpful as it made me exercise with less difficulty. This allowed me to continuously participate in the exercise program.	2, 3, 5, 6
	Encouraging talks	11	The encouragement I received from exercise therapists when I was having a hard time doing the exercise alone helped me to carry on. Encouraging words (motivational talks) might not have been that important, but really helped me to stay determined.	1, 2, 3, 5, 6