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. 2022 Sep 6;19(18):11203.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph191811203.

Implementation of a Standard Care Program of Therapeutic Exercise in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

Bella Pajares  1 , Cristina Roldán-Jiménez  2   3 , Emilio Alba  1 , Antonio I Cuesta-Vargas  2   3   4
Affiliations

Implementation of a Standard Care Program of Therapeutic Exercise in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

Bella Pajares et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: There is little information on the feasibility and benefit of therapeutic exercise (TE) in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The aim of this article is to describe the implementation of a TE intervention in MBC patients, and to determine the recruitment, compliance and improvement in outcomes after its completion.

Methods: The "Therapeutic Exercise program in MBC" (TEP-MBC) consists of 1 h of individualized TE supervised by a physiotherapist in a group format, consisting of four groups of seven to eight participants. TEP-MBC was delivered twice a week, lasting 12 weeks (22 sessions), with patients considered to have completed the program when attending at least 17 sessions (>75% attendance). After referral, patients underwent a clinical interview and a physical and functional assessment. This information was complemented with patient-reported outcomes. Data about referral, compliance and assessment were collected.

Results: Only 11 of the 30 patients completed the program. Drop-out was mainly related to personal issues and symptoms arising from the disease or treatment. All patients who completed the program improved cancer-related fatigue and increased their functional parameters.

Conclusions: The TEP-MBC was safe and feasible in patients with MBC, although with low compliance. The high variability in baseline measures reflects the heterogeneous level of function.

Keywords: breast cancer; community; exercise therapy; metastasis breast cancer; palliative care; physiotherapy; rehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart from compliance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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