PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate weight changes in women during the period of TAC (docetaxel-doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy after breast surgery and the differences in weight changes by disease characteristics among Korean women with breast cancer. METHODS: The design of this study was retrospective survey research. The subjects of this study were 130 patients with fully completed TAC chemotherapy between January 2012 and April 2015. Body weight before their operation, and at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks, 15 weeks, and 18 weeks after surgery, as well as general and disease characteristics, were reviewed via their medical charts. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 51.2 years. The preoperative (baseline) mean weight was 59.4±8.44. Significant weight losses were observed in the initial (1st 3 week) period of TAC chemotherapy compared to the baseline and significant weight losses were observed with the exception of the period 6 weeks after breast surgery. There were significant differences in mean weight changes according to the stage of breast cancer, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy among disease characteristics. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to study weight changes after breast surgery for the long periods of TAC chemotherapy. Through the accumulated results of studies, nursing programs for breast cancer patients must be developed for the prevention of weight gain in the periods of TAC chemotherapy.
Body Weight ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Drug Therapy* ; Female ; Humans ; Nursing ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Weight Gain ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: Cardiotoxicity following cancer chemotherapy or radiotherapy is an emerging issue for breast cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current domestic research trends for exercise intervention for Korean breast cancer patients under chemotherapy or radiotherapy, focused on cardiovascular indices as study outcome measures and to make suggestions for future nursing studies. METHODS: A literature search was done using PubMed, CINAHL and two Korean databases to identify experimental studies reported in Korean or English between 2,000 and 2015. We identified five studies independently reviewed by two reviewers. The quality and risk of bias of the selected studies were assessed by RoBANS criteria. RESULTS: Tai-chi exercise was used in three studies and aerobic exercise programs or yoga and walking exercise in the remaining studies. Two studies evaluated cardiovascular outcomes and showed positive findings for breast cancer patients. For cardiovascular indices, heart rate and blood pressure were used. CONCLUSION: This study showed the need for conducting well-designed experimental studies including clinical cardiovascular outcomes to generate evidence on exercise intervention for cancer therapy-induced cardiotoxicity prevention. Additional studies are warranted to accelerate the potential use of exercise as a nursing intervention for cancer patients under chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Blood Pressure ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cardiovascular System ; Drug Therapy* ; Exercise ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Nursing ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Radiotherapy* ; Walking ; Yoga

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a cognitive-behavioral nursing intervention on anxiety and depression of patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy. METHODS: A nonequivalent control group design was used for the study. The research participants were patients with breast cancer (N=71; experimental group=35, comparison group=36) who received radiotherapy at P university hospital. The experimental group received a 6-week cognitive-behavioral nursing intervention (2 hr/week), which included nursing counseling, education about treatment choices for breast cancer and possible side effects and management strategies during radiotherapy, and rehabilitation exercise. RESULTS: Following the intervention, the experimental group showed significantly lower levels of anxiety (Experimental group=34.60+/-6.35, Comparison group=44.63+/-9.93, t=3.552, p<.001) and depression (Experimental group=10.20+/-6.61, Comparison group=17.81+/-10.85, t=3.542, p<.001) than the comparison group. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study showed that cognitive-behavioral counseling applied by nurses is very effective to reduce anxiety and depression among patients with breast cancer. Therefore, providing nursing counseling to broader spectrum of patients with cancer should be considered. Further research would warrant future clinical application of nursing counseling.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; Anxiety/*nursing ; Breast Neoplasms/*nursing/radiotherapy/therapy ; Cognitive Therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Depression/*nursing ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Patient Education as Topic ; Program Development