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Exercise Rehabilitation for Older Breast Cancer Survivors

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Handbook of Rehabilitation in Older Adults

Part of the book series: Handbooks in Health, Work, and Disability ((SHHDW))

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Abstract

Despite improved survival rates during the past 25 years, older breast cancer survivors have a significantly higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk compared to age- and sex-matched noncancer controls, a finding attributed, in part, to sedentary (cardiovascular) deconditioning during and following cancer treatment. As a result, breast cancer survivors’ peak exercise oxygen uptake (peak VO2) is ~20% lower than age-matched noncancer controls. The objective of this chapter is to highlight the mechanisms responsible for impaired peak VO2 in older breast cancer survivors and discuss the role of exercise rehabilitation training to improve peak VO2, muscle strength and functional outcomes, fatigue resistance, and quality of life. Evidence to date suggests that the reduced peak VO2 in older breast cancer survivors is the result of both central and peripheral abnormalities that result in decreased oxygen delivery and/or utilization by exercising muscle. Exercise rehabilitation training improves peak VO2 by ~11% in older breast cancer survivors; however, the relative contributions of central (cardiac) and peripheral (skeletal muscle and vascular) adaptations to this improvement remain unclear and warrant further investigation. Breast cancer patients who perform exercise training during chemotherapy experience fewer changes in therapy regimens, better treatment effectiveness, and improved survival. Exercise training also increases muscle strength and preserves bone mineral density with subsequent improvements in functional outcomes (timed up and go and 6-min walk distance). Finally, older breast cancer survivors also report improvements in fatigue resistance and quality of life following exercise training.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nursing and Health Innovation, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

    Mark J. Haykowsky, Rhys I. Beaudry & Wesley J. Tucker

Authors
  1. Mark J. Haykowsky
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  2. Rhys I. Beaudry
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  3. Wesley J. Tucker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark J. Haykowsky .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, College of Science, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

    Robert J. Gatchel

  2. Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Izabela Z. Schultz

  3. Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX, USA

    Christopher T. Ray

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Haykowsky, M.J., Beaudry, R.I., Tucker, W.J. (2018). Exercise Rehabilitation for Older Breast Cancer Survivors. In: Gatchel, R., Schultz, I., Ray, C. (eds) Handbook of Rehabilitation in Older Adults. Handbooks in Health, Work, and Disability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03916-5_19

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