The Effects of Combined Strength Training and Functional Endurance Exercise Regimen on Cancer-Related Fatigue and Physical Performance

Cancer-related fatigue has been described as the most common and troubling side effect of cancer and cancer treatment. Researchers want to see if a strength-training and walking exercise regimen may help reduce severe fatigue and increase patients' ability to perform activities of daily living.

If you agree to take part in this study, you will complete a questionnaire, provide contact information, and participate in 1 of 2 groups. For the questionnaire, you will be asked information about your age, ethnic origin, marital status, education, exercise habits, and cancer diagnosis. It should take about 5 minutes to complete. For the contact information, you will be asked to provide the name, address, and telephone number of someone to call in case of an emergency.

After completing the questionnaire and providing the contact information, you will be randomly assigned (as in the toss of a coin) to 1 of 2 groups. Participants in the exercise group will be taught to perform a specific regimen for strength-training and walking exercises. Participants in the nonexercise group will follow the usual routines of standard care but will not be taught to perform a specific regimen for strength-training and walking exercises. Participants in the nonexercise group will be asked to keep a record of any exercises that are done for the participant's personal regimen that are not a part of this study. You will have an equal chance of being assigned to either group.

All participants in this study will be asked to complete questionnaires (the Schwartz Fatigue Scale, Karnofsky Performance Scale, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire [IPAQ]) in the Breast Center Clinic before beginning chemotherapy treatment. The Schwartz Fatigue Scale and IPAQ will also be completed after chemotherapy treatment. All of these questionnaires will be used to provide information about your physical activities and how much time you spend doing them. It should take about 25-30 minutes to complete all 3 questionnaires.

No matter what group you are in, after these questionnaires are completed, a physical therapist will then escort you to the exercise room located in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Clinic. The therapist will perform a lymphedema (excess fluid collection) evaluation that will involve measuring the size of your arms and hands by placing a tape measure around your arms and hands at 5 different points. The lymphedema evaluation will be done at each clinic visit when you come in for chemotherapy and 2 weeks after completing your therapy. You will also be asked to complete exercise testing, the Estimated Timed-Get-Up and Go test (ETGUPGo) and a 6-minute walk test, to check your level of fatigue and physical ability. This exercise testing will be performed before you begin chemotherapy and within 2 weeks after you finish your last chemotherapy treatment. The exercise testing will be done after your chemotherapy treatment so that researchers can compare your level of fatigue and physical performance to what you were experiencing before your therapy began.