The Effects of Aromatherapy on Fatigue Severity in Women with Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Backgrounds: Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common side effects of breast cancer treatments. Aromatherapy has a special role in alternative and complementary medicine. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Aromatherapy on fatigue severity and quality of life in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy Material and Method: This study was a clinical trial on 68 patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy in 4 weeks in two groups of experimental and control group. Patients were asked in the aroma group, inhale 3 drops of rose extract (standardized at least 0.2 mg of nerol per ml) which covered on an absorbent cotton cloth (gas 10 * 10) and pin at 20 cm from the tip of the nose for 8 hours at bedtime from 23 to 7 days. The questionnaire of fatigue was completed before the intervention and at the end of the first to fourth weeks.Results: The repeated measures of variance analysis showed a significant difference (p = 0.001), in fatigue severity between two groups of aroma and control in the 1-4 weeks.Conclusion: The results of this study propose aroma can be effective to reduce cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Providing the implementation for using aroma is recommended to nursing managers, in order to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.