Quality of Life and Smoking Status in Cancer Survivors Who Participated in MBME Classes
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Date
2016-05
Authors
Berens, Megan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
By 2024, there will be an estimated 18.9 million cancer survivors in the United States. Cancer survivorship is defined as the time period from cancer diagnosis through the remainder of life. Quality of life (QOL) is important to cancer survivors because they may have many side effects from their cancer and treatment that could decrease their satisfaction in their daily lives. Mind body movement exercise (MBME) such as yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong, is a complementary health approach that can be vital in improving the overall health of cancer survivors. Smoking cessation may also increase cancer survivors’ QOL and efficacy of treatment by decreasing mortality, treatment toxicity, infection, and risk for a second primary cancer. The purpose of this study was to describe QOL scores among cancer survivors who participated in MBME classes. This was a one group repeated measures design with cancer survivors who were enrolled in a 10 week MBME class. Data collection occurred at the time of enrollment and at 6 months after study completion. Participants were recruited from The James Cancer Hospital’s James Care for Life MBME classes. QOL was measured with the FACT-G. There were 33 participants at baseline and 24 at 6 months; 8 with a smoking history for both time points. Patients without a smoking history had a mean (SD) FACT-G score of 77.41 (17.76) at baseline and 82.89 (20.97) at 6 months. Patients with a smoking history had a mean (SD) FACT-G score of 75.31 (15.95) at baseline and of 80.62(15.45) at 6 months. QOL scores for participants with a smoking history were slightly lower than those who were never smokers at both time points. This reinforces the importance of smoking cessation at every stage in cancer survivorship. Future research on the benefits of MBME with a smoking cessation intervention among cancer survivors is warranted.
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Keywords
Quality of Life, Smoking, Mind Body Movement Exercise, FACT-G