(Press-News.org) MIAMI — A group-based, holistic, mind-body intervention was equally effective in treating persistent fatigue and improving quality of life for breast cancer survivors, regardless of their race.
"All women, black and white alike, reported significant improvement in fatigue post program completion, and improvement was maintained without further intervention," said researcher Susan E. Appling, M.S., C.R.N.P., nurse practitioner with the Prevention and Research Center at Mercy Medical Center.
These results were presented here, at the Third AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities.
For breast cancer survivors, persistent fatigue has multiple contributing factors including pain, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, decreased physical activity, weight gain and treatment-induced menopausal symptoms.
"Persistent fatigue is one of the most common lingering problems affecting breast cancer survivors," she said. "Programs focused on helping patients transition from active treatment to cancer survivorship are an important component of an overall cancer treatment plan."
The Mercy Medical Center Prevention and Research Center Team created an intervention program that consisted of relaxation techniques (i.e. deep breathing and guided imagery), optimization of nutrition and physical activity, introduction to restorative yoga techniques, and cognitive behavioral therapy to help make positive lifestyle changes.
Fatigue rates were measured in 206 breast cancer survivors at the beginning of the program, at study completion, and two and six months after completion.
Appling and colleagues also investigated if one race benefited from the intervention more than another. One-third of the study population was black; the rest were white.
Regardless of race, results showed decreased levels of self-reported fatigue among breast cancer survivors, and sustained and improved energy after participation in the intervention program, according to Appling. Black women had slightly higher fatigue scores across all four data collection periods compared to white women, but the difference was not statistically significant.
"In our group of breast cancer survivors, race did not play a role in fatigue improvement," she said. "Overall, women with the common symptom of persistent fatigue benefited equally from this group-based holistic program."
Appling believes since fatigue among breast cancer survivors is a common shared experience, regardless of one's race, the intervention would have a positive impact.
"Breast cancer survivors with fatigue took immediate comfort from knowing that they were not alone in battling this problem," she said. "Patients need to know that they can take positive steps to help alleviate this symptom."
###
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @AACR #AACR
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org
The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 32,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists, providing a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.
END
MIAMI — DNA repair capacity (DRC) measurements effectively identified individuals who were at high risk for non-melanoma skin cancer, and may be a useful method to evaluate the efficacy of preventive therapies, according to study results presented at the Third AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities.
"Our study showed that persons with low DRC have three times greater likelihood of having non-melanoma skin cancer as compared to those with high DRC," said Manuel Bayona, M.D., Ph.D., professor of the Public Health Program at the Ponce School of Medicine, ...
MIAMI — Cancer disparities persist across racial, ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic lines. Several factors contribute to the disparity in health care, including differences in culture, education and financial resources. Other factors include language barriers, limited access to health care and lack of health literacy.
As part of the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, Olveen Carrasquillo, M.D., M.P.H., chief of the division of general medicine at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine in Florida, will host a press conference ...
MIAMI — People living in economically deprived neighborhoods were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage, non-localized colorectal cancer, even after researchers controlled for known colorectal cancer risk factors, according to data presented at the Third American Association for Cancer Research Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, being held Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2010.
"Community clinical practitioners should be encouraged to understand the neighborhood characteristics of their patients and use that information to guide their encounters with patients, ...
MIAMI — People with a history of cancer have a 40 percent greater likelihood of experiencing memory problems that interfere with daily functioning, compared with those who have not had cancer, according to results of a new, large study.
The findings, believed to be one of the first culled from a nationwide sample of people diagnosed with different cancers, mirror findings of cancer-related memory impairment in smaller studies of certain cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer. Results were presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities.
"The ...
MIAMI — Mexican women who do not smoke but are exposed to smoking, known as environmental smoke exposure, are at three times higher risk for breast cancer than non-smoking women not exposed to passive smoking, according to findings presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, being held Sept. 30-Oct.3, 2010.
"Everyone should avoid secondhand smoke," said Lizbeth López-Carrillo, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology, at the National Institute for Public Health, Mexico City, Mexico.
"Tobacco smoking produces both mainstream smoke, which ...
MIAMI — Awareness of genetic testing was higher among adults in Puerto Rico compared to previous U.S. population-based studies, while use of genetic testing was lower, according to data presented at the Third AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 30 to Oct 3, 2010.
Genetic tests are increasingly being offered direct-to-consumers through the Internet and other venues, providing individual access to genetic tests without the involvement or consultation of a health care provider. Researchers analyzed data from the Health Information National ...
MIAMI — Vigorous exercise of more than two hours per week reduces the risk of developing breast cancer in postmenopausal African-American women by 64 percent, compared to women of the same race who do not exercise, according to researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Results were presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, 2010.
"People often want to know what they can do to reduce their risk of disease, and we have found that just two or more hours of vigorous activity per week ...
AUDIO:
Siblings of children with autism have more frequent language delays and other subtle characteristics of the disorder than previously understood. Girls also may be mildly affected more often than recognized...
Click here for more information.
Siblings of children with autism have more frequent language delays and other subtle characteristics of the disorder than previously understood. Girls also may be mildly affected more often than recognized in the past.
A new ...
Berkeley — A new study led by a University of California, Berkeley, researcher could give women a little extra motivation to visit their dentist more regularly. The study suggests that women who get dental care reduce their risk of heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular problems by at least one-third.
The analysis, which used data from nearly 7,000 people ages 44-88 enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study, did not find a similar benefit for men.
Published online Sept. 29 in the journal Health Economics, the study compared people who went to the dentist ...
Our ideal image of the perfect partner differs greatly from our real-life partner, according to new research from the University of Sheffield and the University of Montpellier in France. The research found that our actual partners are of a different height, weight and body mass index than those we would ideally choose.
The study, which was published this week (27 September 2010) in the Journal PLoS ONE, found that most men and women express different mating preferences for body morphology than the actual morphology of their partners and the discrepancies between real ...