Effects of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Guided Imagery and Deep Diaphragmatic Breathing on Quality of Life in Elderly Patients with Breast or Prostate Cancer

Introduction: Due to the increasing number of elderly and an increase in the number of cases ofcancer by age, cancer is common problem in the elderly. For elderly patients with cancer, thedisease and its treatment can have long‑term negative effects on their quality of life (QoL). Thepurpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation, body image anddeep diaphragmatic breathing on the QoL in the elderly with cancer.Materials Methods: This study was randomized controlled trial in which 50 elderly patientswith breast or prostate cancer were randomized into study and control groups. Progressive musclerelaxation, guided imagery, and deep diaphragmatic breathing were given to the study group, butnot to the control group. The effect of the progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and deepdiaphragmatic breathing was measured at three different time points. European Organization forResearch and Treatment of Cancer and QoL Questionnaire‑Core questionnaires was completedbefore, after and weeks after the intervention for the patients in both groups simultaneously. Thedata were analyzed by SPSS.Results: There was statistically significant improvement in QoL (P 0.001) and physicalfunctioning (P 0.001) after progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and deepdiaphragmatic breathing intervention.Conclusion: The findings indicated that concurrent application of progressive muscle relaxation,guided imagery, and deep diaphragmatic breathing would improve QoL in the elderly with breast orprostate cancer.