Deirdre Kiely Discusses the Challenges of Getting Breast Cancer Patients to Exercise

Deirdre Kiely, MS, MPA, RN, ANP, nurse practitioner, Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses some of the challenges of getting breast cancer patients to exercise routinely.

Kiely says women who have surgery and then continue treatment with radiation have to deal with side effects of treatment, which impacts their ability to exercise. These women must learn how to pace themselves while fully participating in exercise. The challenge is finding the right balance, Kiely says.

Although these patients understand that exercise and lifestyle changes are beneficial to them, it is difficult for them to incorporate it into the adjuvant setting during treatment.