A study published in the May issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management  indicates that a walking exercise program can  reduce fatigue levels in those AML( acute myelogenous leukemia) patients  who are being treated with chemotherapy.

Dr. Yeur-Hur Lai of National Taiwan University in Taipei and colleagues randomly assigned 22 hospitalized AML patients  to either a walking group or a control group receiving standard ward care.  The walking group walked 12 minutes each day for 5 days a week for a period of 3 weeks.  All patients were evaluated before chemotherapy and on day 7,14 and 21 of the chemotherapy.

The investigation found that those in the walking had lower levels of fatigue intensity and interference than the control.   They also found that symptom distress, anxiety and depression were lower in the walking group.

"Taken together, our preliminary findings suggest that a brief exercise-driven program, such as the walking exercise program, should be started at the beginning of chemotherapy to decrease chemotherapy-related fatigue," Lai’s team concluded. "Standardizing the walking exercise program as part of a chemotherapy-related care model should be feasible and encouraged to improve cancer-related fatigue experiences."

Tags: "AML treatments" "acute myeloid leukemia" AML "Journal of Pain and Symptom Management" "National Taiwan University" "chemotherapy related treatment" chemotherapy leukemia "acute myelogenous leukemia", AML, AML treatments, chemotherapy, chemotherapy related treatment, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, National Taiwan University