Exercise boosts self esteem of breast cancer patients having chemo: study

Reported September 06, 2007

TORONTO (CP) - Women with early-stage breast cancer who did weight-training exercises regularly while undergoing chemotherapy were more likely to complete their treatments on time, a new study has found.

The research, which also found fitness and self-esteem improvements among exercisers, was conducted in Edmonton, Vancouver and Ottawa, and published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"We wanted to find out, is exercise useful during this difficult time," said lead author Kerry Courneya, a professor in the faculty of physical education and recreation at the University of Alberta.

"Can it help patients cope with some of the side-effects? Can it improve quality of life and other markers of well-being?"
 

The study began in 2003 with the recruitment of women who were just beginning chemotherapy. Researchers divided 242 women into three groups: 82 women who had supervised weight-training for about an hour, three times weekly; 78 women who had supervised aerobic exercise, for instance on treadmills or elliptical machines; and 82 women in a "usual care" group with no special exercise.

"The first major finding was that most of the women were able to complete the exercise," Courneya said in an interview Wednesday from Edmonton.

"So we had good adherence in both groups (of exercisers) of about 70 per cent, so even during this difficult chemotherapy, most of them were able to come to the fitness centre and complete the exercise program that we had developed."

The researchers found that both groups of exercisers had improved self-esteem and felt better about themselves, compared to the group of women who didn't exercise.

The study also found members of the aerobic exercise group had improvements in their fitness levels, and the workouts prevented some of the fat gain that sometimes accompanies chemotherapy treatment, Courneya said.

Those who were in the weight-training group became stronger and increased the amount of muscle they had over the course of the chemotherapy, which lasted, on average, about 17 weeks.

"And probably the most unexpected and intriguing finding is we found that women who did the weight-training actually completed more of their chemotherapy treatments on time," Courneya said.

"And that can be very important in terms of preventing a recurrence of the disease, and extending survival after the disease."

The percentage of women who received 85 per cent or more of their recommended chemotherapy dose was 78 per cent in the weight-training group, 74 per cent in the aerobic exercise group and 66 per cent in the usual care group.

The authors say it's unclear why exercise may improve chemotherapy completion rates, and say the finding should be replicated before it is considered reliable.

The study was funded by the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance.

Courneya said that in the past, oncologists have often recommended that their patients rest while undergoing chemo but "these patients sometimes experience more fatigue, more declines in their function and quality of life."

His team wanted to see if exercise was possible.

He admits that sometimes the participants had to cancel or move a session, depending on how they felt.

"Many of them were very surprised at how much they were able to do, and when you initially approach someone about exercise and she's about to start chemotherapy, you know, they have a bit of a look on them, like 'you've got to be kidding,"' he said.

"So a lot of them were surprised about it, but a lot of them were real pioneers, they said 'yeah, I'm willing to give it a try."'

"This is something that we think women can do for themselves to potentially improve their chances of completing their treatments and beating cancer, so we think it's very big news." .