THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF THE SUPERVISED INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE PROGRAM DURING RADIOTHERAPY IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED STUDY

Abstract

Objective
 Treatment side effects lead to a negative impact on
 the quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Exercise
 is reported to improve the physical and psychological
 status of these patients. We aimed to investigate the
 effect of exercise during radiotherapy on physical and
 psychological status in breast cancer patients.
 Material and Method
 A randomized controlled study was set in outpatient
 rehabilitation clinic. Histologically proven stage
 I-III breast cancer patients referred for adjuvant
 radiotherapy were randomly assigned to a supervised
 aerobic and strengthening exercise program or usual
 medical care without exercise training. The primary
 outcome parameters were Rosenberg Self Esteem
 Scale (RSES), Short Form-36 (SF_36) Quality of life,
 Coping Strategies Questionnaire (COPE Inventory),
 Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Beck Depression
 Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). End
 points were assessed 1 week prior to and 1 week
 following 6 weeks of exercise training.
 Results
 In the repeated measured analysis, BAI and FSS
 scores decreased, general health (GH) and energy/
 fatigue (E) scores of SF-36 increased in the exercise
 group (p=0.045, Cohen d=0.757 for BAI, p=0.02,
 Cohen d=0.863, p=0.010, Cohen d =1.02 for GH,
 p=0.032, Cohen d=0.801 for E), while the use of
 problem-based coping score decreased in the control
 group (p=0.049, Cohen d=0.641). No significant
 differences were found in scores for BDI and RSES
 (p>0.05).
 Conclusion
 In conclusion, supervised comined exercise training
 during adjuvant radiotherapy improved anxiety,
 fatigue, energy, general health perceptions and
 prevented decreasing in using effective coping
 strategies.