Surprisingly, the women who exercised on their own received the most benefit from exercise, more so than the supervised group. The researchers were surprised by these results but say that exercise restrictions imposed on the supervised group may explain why the unsupervised group showed the best results. Breast cancer patients are often motivated to exercise as a means of coping with the disease. According to Anna Schwartz, a researcher from Oregon Health Sciences Services, exercise is most beneficial for patients who are fatigued from treatment. Previous studies have shown that physical activity can improve both the physical and emotional condition of cancer patients.
Exercise can also help cancer patients lose weight gained during treatment.
In Dr. Segal's study, women in the supervised exercise group were most successful in losing weight. The study also found that women who exercised were more capable of working during treatment than patients who did not exercise. Exercise is possible for many early-stage breast cancer patients. However, early-stage breast cancer patients can experience side effects from treatment that often temporarily interfere with their quality of life. For example, common side effects of chemotherapy include nausea and vomiting, hair loss, and fatigue.