In a research study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital and Brown Medical School in Providence, RI, looked at whether women who had been treated for early-stage breast cancer could adopt a home-based physical activity program and monitored the effects it would have on their fitness, mood, physical symptoms and body image.
"Many treatments for breast cancer are toxic in nature, increasing the risk for a number of medical problems including cardiovascular and pulmonary disease," says Bernardine Pinto, PhD, lead author of the Moving Forward study, staff psychologist at The Miriam Hospital, and associate professor at Brown Medical School. "In addition, some breast cancer survivors report somatic complaints such as chronic fatigue, weight gain and difficulty sleeping that linger for months or years after the end of treatment. Physical activity has emerged as a viable intervention to diminish many of these effects, but studies indicate that most cancer patients are not physically active, or they reduce their physical activity during and after cancer treatment."
While previous studies have shown the benefits of promoting physical activity among breast cancer survivors, they tended to involve supervised on-site intervention. Those studies did not take into consideration that some patients may "have limited access to exercise facilities because of transportation or scheduling difficulties," the paper states.
Pinto, along with colleagues from The Miriam Hospital, wanted to offer a program where participants could exercise at home. They randomized a group of 86 sedentary wom
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Contact: Megan Martin
mmartin@lifespan.org
401-793-7484
Lifespan
1-Jun-2005