PURPOSE: The purpose was to investigate available evidence for the effect of walking and yoga on breast cancer survivors post-chemotherapy. METHODS: The following search engines included: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, Nursing and Allied Health Collection: Comprehensive, Medline, and PubMed. Randomized clinical controlled trials (RCT), systematic reviews (SR), cohort, and case series (CS) were searched for the effect of walking and yoga on quality of life, persistent fatigue, and perceived levels of cognitive decline in breast cancer populations. RESULTS: Exercise was found to produce many beneficial effects in the cancer population including improvements in physical function, quality of life, body weight, fatigue levels, and psychological issues (4 RCT, 4 SR, 4 Cohort, 1 CS). The effects of walking on a breast cancer population also produced significant improvements including improved quality of life; decreased levels of anxiety, fatigue, and depression; and increased levels of functional capacity (7 RCT, 12 SR, 5 Cohort, 5 CS). The effects of yoga on cancer populations proved to be beneficial with improvements in sleep quality, strength, flexibility, and quality of life (3 RCT, 1 SR, 6 Cohort, 3 CS). CONCLUSIONS AND INTERPRETATION: Exercise, specifically walking, has been proven to be an effective intervention to enhance quality of life and decrease levels of persistent fatigue in a breast cancer population. Although the studies are fewer in number, yoga can modulate symptoms of chemotherapy. Few studies address the cognitive impact of exercise on breast cancer survivorship. Further research exploring the impact of perceived levels of cognitive decline in breast cancer patients is needed.

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