The Effect of a Chickpea-Based Persian Diet on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients: A Semi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common symptoms associated with cancer or its treatment. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of chickpea-based diet (Nokhodāb) on CRF in female breast cancer patients undertaking routine treatment. Method: Forty female patients with diagnosis of breast cancer were enrolled. The patients were asked to use a chickpea-based Persian diet daily for the period of 3 weeks. Symptom assessment was made for all women by the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) questionnaires and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results: CRF decreased significantly at the end of the study, compared to the beginning (p < 0.05). Mean of CFS was 40.72 before the intervention, while showing a significant decrease to 33.38 at the end of our study (p = 0.001). A comparison of FSS and VAS before and after intervention shows that FSS and fatigue VAS mean scores have a significant decline at the end (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Nokhodāb, as an available diet, could be a good choice for relieving CRF in breast cancer women. Traditional/complementary medicine may present some effective therapeutic suggestions for cancer complications.