Effects of a home-based walking program on perceived symptom and mood status in postoperative breast cancer women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy

Abstract

Regular moderate-intensity exercise can play an important role in improving treatment-related symptoms and mood in women with breast cancer. A home-based walking exercise program can be easily incorporated into care for women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Effects of a self-managed home-based walking intervention on psychosocial health outcomes for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a randomised controlled trial

“…Further 294 research and/or interventions are required to test this possibility. 295 A significant intervention effect was revealed on total mood disturbance in line with previous home-296 based physical activity interventions [16,26]. These findings are of particular interest as they 297 demonstrate the benefits of the physical activity intervention on mood without the need for additional 298 counselling or social support from either a nurse or through cancer group based support.…”

“…The self-managed intervention had a positive effect on fatigue and contributes to the evidence from 286 previous physical activity interventions with breast cancer patients [7,16,23,26]. The intervention 287 also provides further support for the benefits of physical activity for self-esteem in breast cancer 288 patients [18].…”

“…However, interventions that are 77 delivered in group settings, or that are hospital-based and/or supervised, can restrict participation as 78 patients undergoing chemotherapy are often busy with treatment schedules, are unwell or have limited 79 access to exercise facilities due to transportation or scheduling difficulties [16]. To overcome such 80 restrictions some researchers have moved towards the use of home-based, physical activity 81 interventions for patients undergoing active treatment and report positive effects on psychosocial 82 health outcomes [21,25,26]. However, some of these studies required regular facilitation by 83 researchers or nursing staff.…”

Exercise effects on mood in breast cancer patients

“…[4] Other psychological and emotional side-effects experienced by cancer patients include stress, fear of death, poor body image, low self-esteem, loneliness and a sense of loss of control over life. [2,3] One study [9] found a similar deterioration in fatigue and QoL measures in breast cancer patients shortly after completing adjuvant therapies. QoL impairment was also strongly associated with scores on depression, as well as fatigue.…”

“…[6] In combination, these co-morbid effects can have a significant negative effect on QoL. [3,7] Psychological sequelae Recent studies have estimated the prevalence of depression, including major and minor depressive episodes and dysthymia, to be in the order of 20%, and the prevalence of anxiety disorders to be approximately 10%. [8] Depression is characterised by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, changes in sleep and eating habits, psychomotor retardation and withdrawal from social contacts, which in turn lead to a deterioration of QoL, and impaired social and occupational functioning.…”