Cancerworld Magazine
  • About the Magazine
    • Editorial Team
    • Leadership and Management
    • Events
    • Magazine
    • Archive
    • Contacts
  • Articles
    • Policy
    • Practice Points
    • Delivery of Care
    • Biology basic
    • Medicine
    • Featured
  • Contents
    • News
    • Editorials
    • Interviews to the Expert
    • In the Hot Seat
    • Profiles
    • Obituaries
    • Voices
    • Partnership
    • Supported contents
  • Media Corner
    • Journalist Cancer Guide
    • Cancer Journalism Award
    • Cancer Journalist Grant
SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Cancerworld Magazine
Cancerworld Magazine
  • About the Magazine
    • Editorial Team
    • Leadership and Management
    • Events
    • Magazine
    • Archive
    • Contacts
  • Articles
    • Policy
    • Practice Points
    • Delivery of Care
    • Biology basic
    • Medicine
    • Featured
  • Contents
    • News
    • Editorials
    • Interviews to the Expert
    • In the Hot Seat
    • Profiles
    • Obituaries
    • Voices
    • Partnership
    • Supported contents
  • Media Corner
    • Journalist Cancer Guide
    • Cancer Journalism Award
    • Cancer Journalist Grant
Cancerworld Magazine > News > Oncology providers urged to offer healthy life style advice to breast cancer survivors
  • News

Oncology providers urged to offer healthy life style advice to breast cancer survivors

  • 19 February 2021
  • Janet Fricker
Oncology providers urged to offer healthy life style advice to breast cancer survivors
Total
27
Shares
27
0
0
0
0

Breast cancer survivors commonly experience treatment-related factors, such as fatigue, depression and discomfort, presenting barriers to the adoption of healthy life styles. The US questionnaire study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (1 February 2021), underscores the need for breast cancer patients to be offered tailored advice on nutrition and physical activity as part of their routine cancer care.

Although early detection and treatment advances in breast cancer have resulted in a growing population of survivors, cancer treatment can present issues that impact on survivors’ ability to maintain healthy lifestyles, including changes in taste preference, gastrointestinal discomfort, pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression. A gap between breast cancer survivors’ desire for improved health and poor adherence to nutrition and physical activity guidelines has highlighted the need to identify the barriers to achieving healthy life styles.

Fang Zhang, from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University (Boston, Massachusetts), and colleagues set out to assess whether breast cancer survivors improve their nutrition and physical activity behaviour after cancer diagnosis and the barriers they perceive to healthy eating and physical activity. For the cross sectional study, 315 breast cancer survivors, recruited through social media, were asked to complete an online exploratory survey which included 68 questions across five domains covering demographics, cancer diagnosis and treatment, weight status, current nutrition and physical activity behaviours.

Results showed approximately one-third of respondents were still receiving cancer treatments or waiting for treatment to start and the remaining two-third had completed cancer treatments. Overall, 46.9% (n=145) of breast cancer survivors reported having at least five healthy nutrition behaviours and at least one healthy physical activity behaviour, and trying to maintain a healthy weight. Despite more than half of breast cancer survivors reporting they had cut their consumption of red and processed meat, sweets and fried foods and increased fruit and vegetable intakes, only one-quarter reported increasing whole-grain consumption.

For healthy eating, the most frequently reported barrier was fatigue (reported by 72.1% of respondents); followed by stress, depression or reduced mental function (69.5%); changes in taste preference during or after cancer treatment (48.6%); craving unhealthy food (42.5%); loss of appetite (31.4%); healthy food costing too much (30.5%); and lack of time to prepare healthy foods (34.3%). Fatigue was also the top barrier for staying physically active (reported by 65.7% of respondents); followed by physical discomfort (53.7%); lack of willpower (36.5%); lack of time (35.6%); and a preference to be sedentary (34.3%).

“To support positive behaviour changes, it would be important to tailor the intervention to address fatigue and other common-treatment-related barriers experienced by breast cancer survivors across the cancer continuum,” write the authors.

They note that breast cancer survivors five to nine years post diagnosis reported more positive changes compared with survivors within five years of diagnosis, but that this pattern did not persist with longer survivorship. Breast cancer survivors 10 years or more since diagnosis reported the lowest frequency of healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviours. “This suggests that survivors’ motivation for attaining a healthy lifestyle declines with time as they become long-term survivors,” write the authors.

Future nutrition interventions for breast cancer survivors, they add, need to include a specific focus on increasing whole-grain consumption for improving long-term health. The authors also highlight the finding that internet searches (rather than interactions with medical staff) provided the primary source for patients seeking nutritional advice. “These gaps call for future efforts to provide individualized nutrition counselling to cancer patients as part of the routine oncology care,” conclude the authors.

Speaking to Cancer World Kotryna Temcinaite, from the UK charity Breast Cancer Now, says, “Following a breast cancer diagnosis it’s really important that women live as healthily as possible, as this can help reduce the chances of cancer coming back after treatment, along with other health benefits. Understanding the barriers that some women face to leading a healthy lifestyle is the first crucial step to us being able to address them, and this research provides helpful insight into these challenges and highlights how needed reliable advice and support is.”

Total
27
Shares
Share 27
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • breast cancer
  • cancer survivors
  • lifestyle
  • nutrition
  • physical activity
Janet Fricker

Janet Fricker is a medical writer specialising in oncology and cardiology. After researching articles for Cancerworld she runs, swims, and eats porridge.

Previous Article
  • Articles
  • Policy

Beating cancer is complex – our messaging must be clear

  • 11 February 2021
  • Anna Wagstaff
View Post
Next Article
  • News

Study brings mass biparametric MRI screening for prostate cancer a step closer

  • 23 February 2021
  • Janet Fricker
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • News

Study highlights need to reanalyse genomics and genetics of metastatic tumours

  • Janet Fricker
  • 27 January 2023
View Post
  • News

Current cervical cancer screening paradigm fails older women

  • Janet Fricker
  • 26 January 2023
View Post
  • News

Call-to-arms for Europe to provide essential paediatric anti-cancer medicines

  • Janet Fricker
  • 9 January 2023
View Post
  • News

Exercise-stimulated myokine production can extend survival in advanced prostate cancer

  • Janet Fricker
  • 9 January 2023
View Post
  • News

Five San Antonio take-aways to improve care of breast cancer patients

  • Janet Fricker
  • 16 December 2022
View Post
  • News

Repurposed drug combination reduces risk of recurrence following surgery for colorectal cancer

  • Janet Fricker
  • 16 December 2022
View Post
  • News

Aerobic activity to outcompete metastasis 

  • Janet Fricker
  • 2 December 2022
View Post
  • News

Ending cancer inequalities: European summit showcases new tools to inform policy

  • Anna Wagstaff
  • 30 November 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

search
or search in Cancerworld archive
Newsletter

Subscribe free to
Cancerworld!

We'll keep you informed of the latest features and news with a fortnightly email

Subscribe now
Latest News
  • Study highlights need to reanalyse genomics and genetics of metastatic tumours
    • 27 January 2023
  • Current cervical cancer screening paradigm fails older women
    • 26 January 2023
  • Call-to-arms for Europe to provide essential paediatric anti-cancer medicines
    • 9 January 2023
  • Exercise-stimulated myokine production can extend survival in advanced prostate cancer
    • 9 January 2023
  • Five San Antonio take-aways to improve care of breast cancer patients
    • 16 December 2022
Article
  • The cancer patients still struggling to access drugs in the wake of anti-corruption reforms
    • 27 January 2023
  • Immunotherapy: outcomes of ultra low-dose trial offer hope for better global access
    • 26 January 2023
  • Cervical cancer elimination efforts boosted by simpler ways to identify and treat pre-cancerous lesions
    • 12 January 2023
Latest printed issue
Social

Would you follow us ?

Contents
  • Hansjörg Senn of St Gallen: A practice-changing career
    • 3 February 2023
  • AI in Genomics and Reporting for Clinical Practice
    • 26 January 2023
  • Telemedicine in Cancer Care: Monitoring, Follow-Up,Tele-Rehabilitation, Palliative and Supportive Care
    • 23 January 2023
MENU
  • About the Magazine
    • Editorial Team
    • Leadership and Management
    • Events
    • Magazine
    • Archive
    • Contacts
  • Articles
    • Policy
    • Practice Points
    • Delivery of Care
    • Biology basic
    • Medicine
    • Featured
  • Contents
    • News
    • Editorials
    • Interviews to the Expert
    • In the Hot Seat
    • Profiles
    • Obituaries
    • Voices
    • Partnership
    • Supported contents
  • Media Corner
    • Journalist Cancer Guide
    • Cancer Journalism Award
    • Cancer Journalist Grant
Cancerworld Magazine
  • About the Magazine
  • Articles
  • Media Corner
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Cancerworld is funded by SPCC Sharing Progress in Cancer Care | Via Vincenzo Vela 6, 6500 Bellinzona - Switzerland | info@spcc.net

Archivio Cancerworld

Input your search keywords and press Enter.