Level of Exercise Influences the Severity of Fatigue, Energy Levels, and Sleep Disturbance in Oncology Outpatients Receiving Chemotherapy

Background Fatigue and sleep disturbance are common co-occurring symptoms in patients receiving chemotherapy. While the results from meta-analyses support the use of exercise to decrease the severity of these symptoms, information is needed on patients’ “real world experiences” with the use of exercise. Objective The aims of this study were to determine distribution of patients who did and did not exercise on a regular basis and evaluate for differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as the severity of fatigue, decrements in energy, and sleep disturbance among the exercise groups. Methods Patients (n = 1033) completed self-report questionnaires prior to their second or third cycle of chemotherapy. Patients were categorized into 3 exercise (Ex) groups (ie, NoEx,
Source: Cancer Nursing - Category: Nursing Tags: ARTICLES Source Type: research