OBJECTIVES:
* Compare the efficacy of a diet and exercise-based home-based counseling program versus a standard home-based counseling program for improving physical function at 6 and 12 months for patients with early-stage breast or prostate cancer.
* Compare the effects of these home-based programs on diet quality, physical activity, weight status, depression, and quality of life of these patients.
* Compare the factors, such as gender, race, and social support, that interact with these home-based programs to predict program efficacy in these patients.
OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter study. Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.
* Arm I: Patients receive home-based telephone counseling by a personal nutritionist and a personal trainer.
* Arm II: Patients receive home-based standard health telephone counseling in unrelated areas of cancer care (e.g., sun exposure, screening, and falls prevention).
In both arms, counseling continues every 2 weeks for 6 months.
Patients are followed at 6 months.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 420 patients (210 per arm) will be accrued for this study.
