Feasibility of Daily Assessments of Chemotherapy Toxicities to Predict Daily Exercise Behavior During a Home-Based Exercise Intervention.

ObjectivesTo examine the feasibility of high-frequency sampling of symptoms and gather preliminary data on whether daily exercise behavior is related to daily symptom fluctuations.Sample & settingSeven patients with cancer started a 12-week daily home-based walking and resistance exercise program during chemotherapy.Methods & variablesEach day, patients rated pain, numbness/tingling, anxiety, and depression; resistance band exercise duration and perceived exertion; and steps for 12 weeks, as well as their pain at pre-, mid-, and postintervention.ResultsOverall, daily symptom ratings showed an expected large variation. Participants took more steps on and after days with less pain; performed more minutes of resistance exercises on days with less pain, numbness/tingling, and anxiety; and reported greater exertion on days with more pain and anxiety.Implications for nursingIt is feasible to collect daily symptom measures throughout an exercise intervention during chemotherapy. Oncology nurses can help support exercise behavior by offering interventions to reduce interfering symptoms and by promoting helpful beliefs about symptoms.