Exercise Prescription and Adherence for Breast Cancer: One Size Does Not FITT All

ABSTRACTPurposeTo prospectively assess adherence to oncologist-referred, exercise programming consistent with current recommendations for cancer survivors among women with early breast cancer across the trajectory of adjuvant treatment.MethodsSixty-eight women participated in supervised, hour-long, moderate-intensity, aerobic, and resistance exercise thrice per week during adjuvant chemotherapy ± radiation, with a step-down in frequency for 20 additional weeks. Adherence to exercise frequency (i.e., attendance), intensity, and time/duration, and barriers to adherence were tracked and compared during chemotherapy versus radiation, and during treatment (chemotherapy plus radiation, if received) versus after treatment.ResultsAttendance decreased with cumulative chemotherapy dose (cycles 1–2 vs cycles 3–8, cycle 3 vs cycles 7–8, all P ≤ 0.05) and was lower during chemotherapy than radiation (64% ± 25% vs 71% ± 32%, P = 0.02) and after treatment than during treatment (P

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