.Exercise and Follow-up After a Mastectomy

The intervention group received pre-surgery education and training on therapeutic exercises in addition to the routine hospital care. The educational material was developed by the principal investigator (PI) and included a power point and a booklet with instructions on the exercises as well as information about the surgery and what to expect after the surgery. The educational material was based on previous research and adopted to our population after consultation with a panel of experts including two nurses and three physicians. Eligible women were approached while waiting for their appointment with their surgeon. If they showed interest in participating they signed a consent form. The PI explained the study and what is involved in participating including the weekly phone calls for women in the intervention group. Participants were told that they will visited at home by the PI to assess their ROM and to fill out a questionnaire.