Exploration of Exercise Outcome Expectations Among Breast Cancer Survivors.
Rachel Hirschey, Sharron L Docherty, Wei Pan and 1 others
PMID 26925999WHAT IT FOUND
Breast cancer survivors expected general benefits from exercise, especially feeling better mentally, but did not spontaneously connect it with lower recurrence risk or treatment side effects.
Nurses can check whether patients already expect these benefits.
Key findings
01Participants mostly discussed psychological benefits of exercise, and did not spontaneously discuss outcomes related to treatment effects such as decreased recurrence risk.
02When asked directly, 30% said exercise might decrease recurrence risk, but only two participants (10%) described heightened exercise needs caused by treatment effects.
03On the modified questionnaire, survivors least agreed that exercise would reduce recurrence risk, decrease long-term treatment effects, help them feel less tired, help them sleep better, increase length of life, increase mental alertness, or decrease osteoporotic fracture risk.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small and convenient: 20 female breast cancer survivors from one southeastern US tertiary care center, all post adjuvant treatment and recently completed a lab-based exercise intervention. Participants were highly motivated and had already exercised, so their expectations may not represent survivors who are sedentary or less motivated. The questionnaire items were given after interview discussion of exercise outcomes, which may have primed participants' ratings. The added breast-cancer-specific items were developed from literature and face validity review by authors and an expert, not described as independently validated. Qualitative responses were often non-specific, limiting detail about why survivors held certain expectations.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this paper as evidence that exercise reduces recurrence risk or mitigates long-term treatment effects. It measured the expectations of 20 breast cancer survivors, not exercise outcomes, and many participants least expected those benefits.