Breaststroke Swimming After Breast Cancer Treatment/Surgery as a Means of Treatment for Seroma, Lymphedema, and Chronic Arm and Chest Pain
Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY
Following surgery and treatment for breast cancer, many patients experience swelling of lymph nodes (lymphedema) or accumulation of fluid (seroma) that can cause pain, restrict movement, and reduce quality of life. Current treatments include massage, pressure dressings, and drainage, but these are often ineffective and do not last. Physical activity, in particular swimming, has been linked to improvement in lymphedema/seroma symptoms, but more research is required to determine whether or not this type of treatment is effective.
Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18
Healthy Volunteers: f
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• Eligible participants include adult female patients, 18 years of age or higher, from the Ottawa Hospital who are post-operative from a lumpectomy or a mastectomy with or without full axillary dissection and radiation. They will be less than 3 years from completion of their acute cancer treatment. Study subjects must have pain symptoms related to chest wall pain and/or arm morbidity, seroma or lymphedema. They must have approval from their medical and radiation oncologist to participate in the study upon enrollment.
Locations
Other Locations
Canada
University of Ottawa
RECRUITING
Ottawa
Contact Information
Primary
Natalie Mills, MD
dr.nataliemills@rogers.com
613-446-6401
Time Frame
Start Date:2023-01-01
Estimated Completion Date:2025-12-31
Participants
Target number of participants:128
Treatments
Experimental: Experimental Group
In the experimental group, patients allocated to the swimming/experimental group will participate in 8 weeks of the swimming program, which involves three weekly swimming sessions of 30 minutes minimum. They will be asked to undergo a range of motion (ROM) assessment by a registered kinesiologist, as well as a few short questionnaires administered over the phone by a research assistant, once at the onset of the intervention and once a month for 3 months during the intervention.
No_intervention: Control Group
The control group will include patients who receive standard of care. This includes the recommendation to undertake exercise and physiotherapy; however, no formal exercise program will be provided. In the control group, participants will be asked to answer a few short questionnaires administered over the phone by a research assistant once per month for 4 months.