Training boosts cancer patients' quality of life

Last Updated: 2008-06-18 10:38:41 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Physical training should be included in rehabilitation programs for cancer patients, Dutch researchers say.

After being treated for cancer, people showed significant improvements in physical function and vitality for up to three months after completing a 12-week training program. They also felt healthier, Dr. Bart van den Borne of Maastricht University and colleagues found.

Adding cognitive behavioral therapy to the mix didn't result in additional improvements, van den Borne and his team report in the medical journal Psychosomatic Medicine, but they say it's too early to conclude that this type of counseling has no value for patients.

More and more people are surviving cancer, the researchers note, but as many as 30 percent say their quality of life has been reduced and that they could use help with both physical and psychosocial issues.

To investigate what type of rehab program might be most effective, van den Borne and his colleagues randomly assigned 209 patients who had completed cancer treatment to a physical training program, or to physical training plus a weekly cognitive behavioral training session, or to a waiting list.

The physical training program included aerobic exercise, strength training, and group sports and games, while the cognitive behavioral therapy was offered in a group format.

Compared to people on the waiting list, those in the physical training group and the training-plus-therapy group showed similar and substantial improvements in their limitations due to physical problems, their physical function, their vitality, and their subjective sense of health. These improvements continued for up to three months after the programs ended.

The physical training program wasn't just exercise, the researchers note, but included group activities that gave participants a chance to gain social support, and used a self-management approach intended to help them feel better able to cope with physical challenges.

Few patients dropped out of the study, and attendance was high, van den Borne and his team point out. "This indicates that participants who on average reported a low quality of life at baseline were highly motivated and that both rehabilitation programs were highly feasible in these cancer survivors," they conclude.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, May 2008.