Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients often experience such symptoms as fatigue, depression and poor sleep quality, even before treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. However, recommendations for managing symptoms often overlook the period immediately after diagnosis and focus instead on symptoms that arise from cancer treatments. "Breast cancer can begin to affect patients' symptoms and quality of life even before they start those difficult treatments," says Kerry Courneya, a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation.
Courneya led a study examining the links between fitness level and patient-reported symptoms of fatigue, depression and poor sleep quality in patients within 90 days of diagnosis. Patients in the study had been through an initial surgery but hadn't yet started additional treatments like chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy. Some 51.
5% of study participants reported poor sleep quality, 26.5% experienced significant fatigue and 10.4% experienced moderate depression.
The research is published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science . In addition to affecting patients during the period right after diagnosis, these symptoms can have a negative effect on treatment outcomes and survival rates , making them an essential factor to target in what Courneya refers to as "the cancer care continuum." "Patients have a long treatment trajectory ahead of them, and this can be very daunting for them.
They may have high anxiety and fear of h.