Effects of Energy Conservation Strategies on Cancer Related Fatigue and Health Promotion Lifestyle in Breast Cancer Survivors: a Randomized Control Trial

Purpose: Cancer-related fatigue is frequently experienced by patients during and after therapy. The present study was conducted to assess the impact of energy conservation strategies and health promotion in breast cancer survivors. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried out to compare the intervention effect (n=69.0) with controls (n=66.0) based on routine oncology ward care. The intervention was five weekly sessions for groups of 6-8 breast cancer survivors. Data on fatigue and health promotion lifestyle were obtained before and after completion the intervention and then 8 weeks later for analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. Results: Our findings showed cancer-related fatigue to be reduced in the intervention group from pre- to post-intervention, and this persisted over the 8-weeks follow-up period (F = 69.8, p<0.001). All subscales of the cancer fatigue scale demonstrated statistically significant effects with partial eta-squared values ranging from 0.15 (the smallest effect in cognitive fatigue) to 0.21 (the largest for affective fatigue). Changes in the health promotion life style indicated a significant promotion from pre- to post-intervention, and this again continued after 8-weeks follow-up (F = 41.6, p < 0.001). All six domains of a health promoting life style featured significantly elevated values, the largest effect being seen in the interpersonal relations subscale (F=57.7, partial η2=0.21, p<0.001) followed by physical activity (F=51.9, partial η2=0.18, p<0.001). Conclusions: The program was effective in decreasing cancer related fatigue and promoting a healthy lifestyle.