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Interest for a Systematic Rehabilitation Program Including Physical Exercise and Lifestyle Accompaniment for Women
Stephanie Marechal1, Marie-Pascale Graas1, Ludivine Collard1
1Oncology Department, Groupe Santé CHC, Liège, Belgium.
Background/Aim:
A prospective non-randomized study was performed on 68 women who had recently undergone curative treatment (surgery +/- adjuvant radio/chemotherapy) for breast cancer.
Patients And Methods:
Patients were distributed into 2 subgroups, control (C) group (n=21) and experimental (E) group (n=47). The last group participated in a 12-week rehabilitation program associating physical activity and psychoeducational workshops, including management of stress, diet, and sleep disorders.
Results:
Despite the initial imbalance between the groups (patients from C group were older and had received less chemotherapy than those from the E group), at the end of the rehabilitation program, we observed a significant improvement in global health feeling and in objective physical tests (distance covered in 6 min and objective measures of ergospirometry), and a decrease in pathological fatigue, while these different items remained quite stable over time in the control group.
Conclusion:
It is suggested to recommend structured rehabilitation to any patient who does not have a contraindication to it. In addition, the scientific literature encourages us to extend the spectrum of oncological rehabilitation to pathologies other than breast cancer.
