RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXERCISE DURING TREATMENT AND CURRENT QUALITY-OF-LIFE AMONG SURVIVORS OF BREAST-CANCER

This retrospective study examined the relationship between exercise du ring cancer treatment and current quality of life among 167 survivors of breast cancer. The women had been diagnosed within the previous two years and had completed adjuvant therapy. Each participant completed a mailed, self-administered questionnaire that assessed her exercise b ehavior at three points (prediagnosis, active treatment, and posttreat ment); her current physical, functional, emotional, and social quality of life; and her overall satisfaction with life. The results indicate d that (I) levels of exercise declined from prediagnosis to active tre atment and then increased from active treatment to posttreatment, (2) exercise during active treatment was associated with a higher quality of life and with overall satisfaction with life, and (3) maintenance o f exercise across the three time periods was the optimal pattern for e nhanced quality of life and overall satisfaction with life. The author s concluded that cancer treatment has a negative impact on exercise le vels but that the women who maintained their exercise behavior during and after treatment reported a higher quality of life one to two years later.