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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's no secret exercise is good for you, but for some breast cancer patients, group exercise can do a lot to strengthen the body and heal the spirit.
Researchers from Scotland studied more than 200 women with early stage breast cancer to find out if group exercise was beneficial. Researchers assigned one group of women to receive cancer treatment alone. The second group received cancer treatment along with a 12-week exercise program. Patients in the exercise group participated in two exercise classes a week led by trained fitness experts. They also practiced one exercise session at home each week. Researchers measured depression, quality of life, mood, shoulder mobility, walking ability and weekly levels of physical activity in all the women in the study.
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At the end of the 12-week study, women in the exercise group had better physical scores as well as better psychological scores than women who did not exercise. This held true when the women were again evaluated six months later. The women who exercised also made fewer trips to their doctor and spent fewer nights in the hospital than the non-exercising women.
Researchers report many rehabilitation programs for women with breast cancer focus on psychotherapy and social support, rather than the physical problems many women encounter during treatment. They say the benefits for the women in this study could be accredited to the exercise itself, the group experience, or a combination of both.
Study authors conclude: "Supervised group exercise provided functional and psychological benefit after a 12-week intervention and six months later. Clinicians should encourage activity for their patients." They go on to suggest, "Policy makers should consider the inclusion of exercise opportunities in cancer rehabilitation services."
According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 180,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. More than 40,000 women will die from the disease.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The British Medical Journal, published online, Feb. 15, 2007
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