Rehabilitation of a breast carcinoma survivor

Abstract

A 37-year-old breast cancer survivor who had undergone primary treatment consisting of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy 5 years ago was recruited for the study. The patient was given a multicomponent exercise programme comprising aerobic, resistance and flexibility exercises for 12 weeks (three times per week). Sleep quality, muscle strength, functional capacity, the severity of oedema, pain and subjective fatigue were measured before and after the completion of the exercise programme. Considerable improvements in sleep quality (50%), fatigue (28%) and quality of life (172%), as well as slight improvements in muscle strength, oedema and functional capacity, were observed after 12 weeks of the multimodal exercise intervention. The multicomponent intervention was found to be effective in improving various physiological aspects associated with breast cancer survivors after the completion of primary treatment. However, in the future, there will be a strong need for adequately sampled, randomised and controlled trials to validate current findings.