. Mohsen Shahriari; . Mojtaba Dehghan; . Saeid Pahlavanzadeh; . Abdolrahim Hazini
Volume 7, Issue 1 , March and April 2017, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Due to the increasing number of elderly and an increase in thenumber of cases of cancer by age, cancer is a common problem in the elderly. For elderlypatients ...
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Background and Objectives: Due to the increasing number of elderly and an increase in thenumber of cases of cancer by age, cancer is a common problem in the elderly. For elderlypatients with cancer, the disease and its treatment can have long‑term negative effects ontheir quality of life (QoL). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of progressivemuscle relaxation, body image and deep diaphragmatic breathing on the QoL in the elderlywith cancer. Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial in which50 elderly patients with breast or prostate cancer were randomized into study and controlgroups. Progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and deep diaphragmatic breathingwere given to the study group, but not to the control group. The effect of the progressivemuscle relaxation, guided imagery and deep diaphragmatic breathing was measured atthree different time points. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancerand QoL Questionnaire‑Core questionnaires was completed before, after and 6 weeks afterthe intervention for the patients in both groups simultaneously. The data were analyzedby SPSS. Results: There was statistically significant improvement in QoL (P < 0.001) andphysical functioning (P < 0.001) after progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and deepdiaphragmatic breathing intervention. Conclusions: The findings indicated that concurrentapplication of progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and deep diaphragmaticbreathing would improve QoL in the elderly with breast or prostate cancer.
