Healing Touch in Treating Fatigue in Women Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer

RATIONALE: Healing touch therapy may be effective in lessening fatigue in women with breast cancer who are undergoing radiation therapy. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying how well healing touch works in treating fatigue in women undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: * To determine the ability to recruit and retain patients with breast cancer receiving curative radiotherapy in a Complementary and Alternative Medicine trial. * To determine the acceptability of weekly healing touch therapy to patients with breast cancer who receive curative radiotherapy. * To examine the effect of healing touch on fatigue and quality of life for patients with breast cancer receiving radiotherapy as a component of therapy. OUTLINE: Patients are stratified by type of treatment (radiotherapy alone vs chemotherapy completed prior to radiotherapy) * Arm I:Patients receive healing-touch therapy administered once a week for 45 minutes by a healing-touch therapist for the duration of radiotherapy. * Arm II: Patients receive sham-therapy administered once a week for 45 minutes by a sham-practitioner (NOT a healing-touch therapist) for the duration of radiotherapy. Patients complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and a demographic variables form (age, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment) at baseline. Patient fatigue is measured on a weekly basis throughout radiotherapy with completion of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI). The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast form (FACT-B) is completed at baseline and the end of radiotherapy. Patients undergo a 20-minute interview at the end of study to determine the acceptability of the intervention.