Effects of a Lifestyle Interventions Program on Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Many breast cancer survivors want to know what proactive steps they can take in addition to conventional therapies to positively impact their prognosis. This study was planned to compare the effects of a lifestyle interventions program, to usual care on; quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors. This randomized controlled trial study was carried between 2012 and 2015 and included 80 women with stage I, II, or III breast cancer. They were divided into two groups randomly; 40 women were randomized to the lifestyle interventions group, and 40 to the usual care group. Those in the lifestyle interventions group were instructed to practice supervised aerobic exercises with dietary energy restriction training for 24 weeks. Those in the usual care group were instructed to continue their normal life. The patient characteristics form and EORTC QLQ-C30 were used for data collection. Controlling for baseline scores, change over time between two groups was significantly different for the women who practiced in lifestyle interventions; this group reported significantly improved QOL as compared to control group (p < 0.001). Breast cancer patients may benefit from participating in lifestyle interventions program for improving their quality of life. Additional research in lifestyle interventions along with cognitive behavioral therapy also may be beneficial.