Archives of Hellenic Medicine

Last update:

02-Mar-2020

Arch Hellen Med, 37(2), March-April 2020, 219-226

ORIGINAL PAPER

The effect of a program of Greek traditional dances on fatigue in women who survived breast cancer

G. Sivvas,¹ F. Filippou,¹ S. Rokka,¹ E. Bebetsos,¹ A. Koupani,¹ G. Masadis,¹ E. Samara²
¹Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini,
²5th High School of Katerini, Greece

OBJECTIVE Study of the effect of an interventional program of Greek traditional dances on the levels of perceived fatigue in women following treatment for breast cancer.

METHOD The study was conducted on 30 women with a survival time of 4±3 years after the end of their treatment for breast cancer, which, in addition to mastectomy, included radiotherapy and chemotherapy (20 in the experimental group and 10 in the control group). The 20 women in the experimental group attended a 3-month program of Greek dances, with 3 lessons per week, of 50 minutes each, while the women in the control group did not participate in any organized physical activities. A total of 36 courses was organized. Data collection was carried out, before and after completion of the course of dancing, using the Greek Multidimensional Fatigue Questionnaire. The statistical analyses undertaken in this study were reliability analysis (Cronbach's α) and the ANOVA repeated measures test.

RESULTS Analysis of the responses revealed significant statistical improvement in the fatigue level recorded by the women in the experimental group. Specifically, the mean values on the fatigue questionnaire were, for "general fatigue": initial measurement M=4.60, final measurement Μ=2.98 (p<0.001), "physical fatigue": initial measurement Μ=4.11, final measurement Μ=2.60 (p<0.001), "mental fatigue": initial measurement Μ=3.35, final measurement Μ=2.0 (p<0.001), and for the "sense of reduced activity": initial measurement Μ=3.76, final measurement Μ=2.03 (p<0.001), and the "sense of reduced motivation": initial measurement Μ=3.35, final measurement Μ=1.85 (p<0.001). No change in fatigue level over the same period of time was observed in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS Participation in a program of traditional Greek dance, a pleasant form of aerobic physical activity, can produce significant improvement in all of the factors that contribute to perceived fatigue in patients following treatment for breast cancer.

Key words: Breast cancer, Fatigue, Greek traditional dance, Psychological support.