Hsieh, C. C., Sprod, L. K., Hydock, D. S., Carter, S. D., Hayward, R., & Schneider, C. M. (2008). Effects of a supervised exercise intervention on recovery from treatment regimens in breast cancer survivors. Oncology Nursing Forum, 35, 909–915.
To investigate the effects of supervised exercise training on cardiopulmonary function and fatigue in cancer survivors undergoing various clinical treatments.
Patients were divided into four groups based on specific type of treatment: surgery alone (n = 22); surgery and chemotherapy (n = 30); surgery and radiation (n = 17); and surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation (n = 27). Following comprehensive screening and medical examination, cardiovascular endurance, pulmonary function, and fatigue were assessed. Individualized exercise prescriptions and six-month exercise interventions were developed. Participants attended supervised exercise sessions two to three days per week for six months.
This was a pre-/posttest quasiexperimental study.
Cardiopulmonary function (predicted maximal oxygen consumption and time on treadmill) significantly increased in all groups after exercise training. In addition, resting heart rate and forced vital capacity significantly improved in those undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Psychologically, the exercise intervention resulted in significant reductions in behavioral, affective, sensory, cognitive, mood, and total fatigue scale scores in all three groups who received treatment with surgery. The breast cancer survivors in the surgery alone group showed significant reductions in behavioral, affective, and total fatigue scale scores but not in sensory, cognitive, and mood fatigue scale scores.
The results suggested that moderate-intensity individualized exercise maintains or improves cardiopulmonary function with concomitant reductions in fatigue, regardless of treatment type. Moreover, cancer survivors receiving combination chemotherapy and radiotherapy following surgery appear to benefit to a greater extent as a result of an individualized exercise intervention.
Symptom management recommendations should be given to cancer survivors concerning the effectiveness of exercise throughout the cancer continuum, and the importance of participating in a cancer rehabilitation exercise program should be emphasized.