(Abby McCoy/ Everyday Health) — More and more research shows that regular exercise can improve physical and mental health for women with breast cancer. Now there’s new research that suggests regular exercise may improve quality of life for women living with metastatic breast cancer, the most advanced form of breast cancer.
Presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium this week, study results suggest a supervised exercise program may help improve symptoms that often occur with metatstatic breast cancer and its treatment, such as fatigue, nausea, pain, and anxiety. The study included 357 participants with metastatic breast cancer, 178 of which took part in a nine-month exercise program. By the end of the study, participants reported more energy, less pain, and improved mental and emotional states than the 179 participants who were part of the control group.
“[During exercise sessions], patients were supervised by a physiotherapist or an exercise professional,” says study author Anne May, PhD, a professor at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center in Utrecht, Netherlands. “Sometimes it was one-to-one supervision, but during most sessions the patients exercised in small groups.” (…)