Gynecological cancer survivors’ health behaviors and their associations with quality of life

Abstract

This research demonstrates the importance of integrating physical activity into follow-up of gynecological cancer survivors. Interventions to improve physical activity and test the causal effect of exercise on quality of life are a future research priority.

Associations between Health Behaviors and Health-Related Quality of Life among Breast Cancer Survivors

“…5,6,11,14,29) Consistent with previous research, 27) presently women who met the criteria for PA showed better global QOL compared with those who did not. This finding suggests that PA is a key lifestyle behavior to improve global QOL in cancer survivors.…”

“…This finding differs from findings in Western countries, where the 5-A-DAY recommendation was met in < 30% of cancer survivors. 11,14,15) Regarding diet quality, our participants also showed more positive results compared with two recent Western studies. The mean value of diet quality score was better (indicated by lower score) for our sample than in an earlier study 7) using the same instrument of DQI (4.6 versus 6.7, respectively).…”

“…10) Among breast cancer survivors, in particular, PA and diet behavior are positively associated with HRQOL, as well as recurrence and survival. [6][7][8][9]11) PA is linked to increased functional capacity, improved mood, decreased nausea, increased immune function, decreased fatigue, improved health perceptions, or improved HRQOL. 12) Recently, diet quality was significantly associated with physical and mental functioning among cancer survivors.…”

Gender, race, BMI, and social support in relation to the health-related quality of life of cancer survivors: a report from the American Cancer Society’s Study of Cancer Survivors II (SCS-II)

“…Modifiable factors associated with HRQoL include obesity [26,27], lack of physical activity [20,[28][29][30], and psychosocial factors such as low social support [21,31]. The association between these factors and how they interact with one another warrants further research.…”

Female Cancer Survivorship and Obesity

“…A cross-sectional mail survey from 802 gynecological cancer survivors evaluated health behaviors revealed no association between quality of life and fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, or BMI class [66]. In parallel to the selfreported survey study, an interventional lifestyle study of 27 ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment revealed minimal changes in fruit, vegetable, and low-fat dairy consumption--although this did not meet the recommended guidelines by the ACS [67].…”