Assessment of Practice and Outcome of Exercise on Quality of Life of Women with Breast Cancer in Delta State

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the effect of exercise on the quality of life of women with breast cancer. It determined the pre and post-intervention functional, symptoms, and global quality of life of women with breast cancer in the control and intervention groups. METHODS: The quasi-experimental design study adopted a purposive sampling technique in selecting the women with breast cancer in the intervention (47) and control (47) groups. Data on QOL was measured using standardized instruments, namely the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-version 3 (EORTC QLQ-C30. RESULTS: The results show the pre-intervention overall functional quality of life domain score was 59.2±21.98 for the intervention and 67.0± 20.13 for the control, an overall score for the symptom domain was 31.8±10.89 for the intervention and 29.8±10.24 for the control. The post-intervention overall generic functional domain score was 89.0±11.1 for the intervention and 51.2±17.8 for the control and for symptoms domain; their overall score was 16.4±10.2 for the intervention and 35.4±12.4 for the control. A significant difference existed in all post-intervention functional domain scores of the generic function and symptoms quality of life as the functional domains (p < 0.001) and global health status (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: As the numbers of women who survive breast cancer continue to increase, there is a need for lifestyle modification like exercise to improve and maintain their overall QOL to live a fulfilled life devoid of post-treatment complications.