title: Physical Activity During and After Adjuvant Treatment for Breast Cancer: An Integrative Review of Women's Experiences.
abstract: In oncology, physical activity (PA) is recognized to improve psychological and physiological functions. Motivating women with breast cancer to sustain a physically active lifestyle is important for promoting positive health after diagnosis. To review and synthesize what is known about how women with breast cancer experience supervised and unsupervised PA during and after adjuvant treatment. PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched, yielding 994 citations. The final review included 17 articles published between 2004 and 2014 in English. The CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) instrument was used to appraise quality.
  
  
  
  Exercise is experienced as a positive element with multiple benefits. However, maintaining a physically active lifestyle during and after chemotherapy is sometimes challenging. Reported benefits of PA include feeling empowered, and improving and reclaiming health. Facilitators to PA comprised exercising with peers and skilled instructors. Barriers included social factors and lack of information.
  
  
  
  Findings highlight the importance of incorporating PA programs from a patient experience perspective as routine treatment. Health care professionals play a crucial "gateway" role in providing information on implementation and benefits of PA. Providing support and educated advice about how to safely start or continue regular PA to minimize symptoms, reduce morbidity, and increase well-being during or after treatment is vital for women with breast cancer.
  
  
  
  Health care professionals need increased knowledge of the breast cancer patients' perspectives on facilitators and barriers to PA during and after treatment, in order to provide sufficient support for women to stay physically active during a breast cancer illness.
authors.affiliation: 1 Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden.|2 University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Browall
authors.affiliation: 3 Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mijwel
authors.affiliation: 3 Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rundqvist
authors.affiliation: 1 Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden.|4 Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wengström
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D011788:Quality of Life; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: breast cancer; nonsupervised exercise; physical activities; physical exercise; qualitative research; supervised exercise