Level of Physical Activities in Patients Before and After Breast Cancer Treatment

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common malignant neoplasy in women. The risk for breast cancer in a lifetime is high among north-american women, about one out of eight, with 66% of the cases occurring after menopause and 15% when women are under 40 years old. Published cohort studies show clear evidences that women who practice intense physical activities have the risk for breast cancer reduced. The risk reduction for these women is 70%, and 10% for those who practice physical activities at a low level. During adolescence and adult age, moderate to intense physical activities may protect against a future breast cancer development. But some questions still need to be answered: Were women with a breast carcinoma diagnosis already physically active during life? Were there changes in these physical activities after treatment? Why? Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the level of physical activities in patients before and after breast carcinoma treatment, and to observe if there were changes in the level of these activities. Subjects and Methods: 303 patients who had already had the diagnosis of breast cancer and had already been treated at the Ambulatory of Botucatu School of Medicine were selected. The measuring tool used for the level of physical activities was the International Physical Activities Questionnaire (IPAQ-short version), validated by the World Health Organization - Physical Activities and Health International Committee (1998).