Center-Based and Home-Based Walking Exercise Intervention to Reduce Fatigue in Older Breast Cancer Survivors
University of Florida
Summary
About 20%-70% of breast cancer survivors experience fatigue after cancer therapy. Because epidemiologic evidence shows that old age is a risk factor for fatigue in adults with cancer history, older breast cancer survivors suffer from even more fatigue than younger survivors. The purpose of this study is to test types of walking exercise interventions and their ability to reduce fatigue in older breast cancer survivors.
Description
Women with breast cancer often experience severe fatigue (asthenia) after cancer therapy, seen in approximately 40% of breast cancer survivors. Because older age is a risk factor for fatigue, older breast cancer survivors are at an increased risk versus those in younger age groups. Prior evidence suggests that aerobic exercise reduces inflammation and bioenergenesis disturbance, which are key factors that drive the pathogenesis of fatigue. Although interventional studies suggest that aerobic exercise can improve fatigue in younger breast cancer survivors, anti-fatigue effects of aerobic exerci…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 60–105 years
- Sex
- Female
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Consent to participate in the study * Age ≥ 60 years old * Had stage I-III invasive breast cancer * The cancer is diagnosed in 2021 or 2022 * Completed adjuvant therapy for at least 3 months but no more than 1 year * Willingness to participate in all study procedures * Had at least moderate-level fatigue (defined as raw score ≥ 8 on the PROMIS Measure) Exclusion Criteria: * Failure to provide informed consent * Current involvement in rehabilitation program * Absolute contraindications to exercise training * Significant cognitive impairment * Progressive, degenerative n…
Interventions
- BehavioralCenter-Based Walking Exercise
Each exercise session will begin with a short warm-up followed by 30 min of walking. Participants will initially be instructed to walk at a moderate intensity, equivalent to a 5-6 on Borg category-ratio (CR) scale. Participants will be encouraged to, if possible, incorporate brief periods of vigorous walking (7-8 on CR10 scale) with a goal of achieving at least 10 min of vigorous walking per session.
- BehavioralHome-Based Walking Exercise
Participants will be asked to walk for exercise in their community five days/week. Participants will be instructed to begin with 10-15 minutes of walking exercise/session in the first month of the intervention and to increase exercise duration by five minutes/session each week, facilitating reasonable but steady progress toward the goal of 30 minutes per session.
Location
- Institute on Aging; University of FloridaGainesville, Florida