Women battling breast cancer can benefit from a phone-based weight loss program, according to a new study. The Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) program helped women drop excess pounds, improve their physical function and have a better quality of life overall, researchers are scheduled to report at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
"The BWEL program was delivered to more than 1,500 participants enrolled from across 635 oncology practices in the United States and Canada," said lead researcher Dr. Jennifer Ligibel, director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
"These findings thus show not only that weight loss provides meaningful benefits for people who have both breast cancer and obesity, but also that this can be achieved in thousands of patients enrolled across many kinds of oncology practices," she said in a news release.
For the new study, researchers randomly assigned 272 women with breast cancer who were overweight or obese to take part in the BWEL program. They also randomly assigned 270 others to just receive information about following a healthy diet and getting regular exercise.
