Massage relieves nausea in women with breast cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy.

• OBJECTIVES: 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. DESIGN: This work was a single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled trial. SETTINGS/LOCATION: This study was conducted in an oncology clinic, in a hospital in southwestern Sweden. SUBJECTS: Thirty-nine (39) women (mean age = 51.8) with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: 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). OUTCOME MEASURES: 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.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Fysiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Physiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Adult

Antineoplastic Agents

adverse effects

Anxiety

prevention & control

Breast Neoplasms

drug therapy

Depression

prevention & control

Female

Humans

Massage

methods

Middle Aged

Nausea

chemically induced

prevention & control

Pain Measurement

Stress

Psychological

prevention & control

Sweden

Treatment Outcome

Women's Health

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)