Objectives: Poor lifestyle choices play a significant role in the development and progression of preventable chronic diseases, including cancer. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive lifestyle medicine intervention on chronic disease risk factors and quality of life in breast cancer survivors.
Design: This is a retrospective review of a clinical program from January 2016 to July 2017.
Settings/location: It includes seven 2-h group medical visits held every other week at an outpatient wellness facility.
Subjects: Eligible participants are breast cancer survivors who have completed treatment, including those who remain on hormonal therapy.
Intervention: Patients receive education and experience in nutrition, culinary medicine, physical activity, and stress relief practices.
Outcome measures: Participants' weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat mass, lean body mass, and percent body fat were measured at visit 1 and visit 7. Standard validated questionnaires were used to measure perceived stress, depression, patient activation, physical and mental quality of life, dietary fat consumption, and dietary fruit, vegetable, and fiber consumption.
Results: A total of 31 patients participated in the group visits. Pre-post comparison data were not available for 10 patients. More than three-quarters of the 21 breast cancer survivors who attended 5 or more of the 7 group visits and provided data at the first and the last group visit decreased their body weight. On average, patients lost 4.9 pounds (-2.6%, p < 0.01), and their BMI decreased by 0.8 kg/m2 (-2.5%, p < 0.01). Changes in psychosocial variables of perceived stress, depression, patient activation, and quality of life trended in a positive direction, but did not reach statistical significance. Patients reported a significant decrease in average weekly fat consumption (-31.5%, p < 0.01). Most patients found the program educational and enjoyable, and nearly half of them described it as life changing.
Conclusions: Breast cancer survivors could employ the prescribed lifestyle modifications to produce clinically relevant health benefits. Interdisciplinary teams of health care professionals may help breast cancer survivors with chronic diseases implement evidence-based, individualized, and effective lifestyle prescription through group medical visits.
Keywords: cancer survivors; culinary medicine; lifestyle medicine; physical activity; shared medical appointments; stress relief practices.