Banana Supplementation for Breast Cancer Surgery Patients: A Two-Center Experience

Patients frequently encounter both physical and mental challenges after undergoing surgery for breast cancer, leading to a negative impact on their general well-being. Our objective was to investigate the beneficial effects of dietary supplementation with bananas on patients after breast cancer surgery.

Among breast cancer patients who had undergone breast surgery, the banana group (n = 77) consumed an additional banana daily alongside their regular diet, while the non-banana group (n = 77) did not. Negative emotions, sleep quality, sexual health, complication rates, length of hospital stay, and quality of life were assessed.

Compared to the non-banana group, patients in the banana group exhibited lower levels of depression and anxiety, better sleep quality, more satisfactory sexual quality of life, and a higher overall quality of life postoperatively. Nonetheless, the complication rates and length of hospital stay did not show any notable variances between the 2 groups.

This study highlights the novel finding that simple dietary supplementation with bananas significantly enhances mental well-being and overall quality of life in breast cancer patients following surgery, despite no notable impact on physical recovery metrics.