ABSTRACT Introduction Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women, often treated with surgery, radiation, and medication. Post‐surgical complications such as lymphedema, pain, limited shoulder movement, and infection are common. Structured training program on exercise play a vital role in recovery by reducing complications, improving mobility, and enhancing overall quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Objectives To evaluate the efficacy of the training program on knowledge and practices regarding breast cancer and post‐breast surgery exercises, and to find the association between knowledge and practices with selected socio‐demographic variables. Methodology A pre‐experimental one‐test group pre‐ and post‐test design was adopted. A total of 128 breast cancer patients were enrolled from the oncology tertiary care center. Of the 128 participants enrolled, data from 100 participants were included in the final analysis, while 28 participants were excluded due to loss to follow‐up. Results Post‐intervention, participants demonstrated a significant improvement in knowledge scores, increasing from a mean of 5.81 to 14.18 ( t = 21.68, p < 0.05). Before the intervention, 74% had inadequate, 25% had moderate, and 1% had adequate knowledge. After 1 week, 56% had moderate, 43% had adequate, and only 1% still had inadequate knowledge. Practice scores also showed a significant increase from a mean of 16.04 to 18.40 ( t = 4.99, p < 0.05). Initially, 94% had moderate and 6% had adequate practice scores; none had inadequate scores. Post‐intervention, 65% remained moderate while 35% improved to adequate practice levels. Post‐training, significant associations were found between knowledge/practice scores and factors like education ( p = 0.04), family type ( p = 0.003), income ( p = 0.017), and information source ( p = 0.006). Conclusion The study demonstrates that training significantly enhances both knowledge and practices regarding breast cancer and post‐surgery exercises. This study addresses a critical gap in breast cancer rehabilitation in India and demonstrates the feasibility of structured interventions in resource‐limited settings. However, its short follow‐up duration and reliance on self‐reported data may limit the generalizability and long‐term applicability of findings. Future research should include long‐term follow‐up and explore digital or rural outreach models.
Sahu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.