title: Massage relieves nausea in women with breast cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of massage on nausea, anxiety, and depression in patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  This work was a single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted in an oncology clinic, in a hospital in southwestern Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine (39) women (mean age = 51.8) with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy were enrolled.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patients were randomly assigned to a massage therapy group (20 minutes of massage on five occasions) or a control group (five 20-minute visits).
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients recorded nausea and anxiety on the Visual Analogue Scale before and after each intervention. They also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Massage treatment significantly reduced nausea compared with control treatment (p = 0.025) when improvement was measured as a percentage of the five treatment periods. Differences in anxiety and depression between the two treatment regimes could not be statistically demonstrated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study complements previous studies on the effect of massage and supports the conclusion that massage reduces nausea in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology/Physiotherapy, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden. annika.billhult@vgregion.se
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Billhult
authors.forename: Ingegerd
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bergbom
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stener-Victorin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents