Breast cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, are associated with sarcopenia, a loss of muscle mass and strength, which increases toxicity, surgical complications, and mortality risk. While resistance exercise is known to mitigate muscle loss, the synergistic effect of adding relaxation techniques to address the psychological and neuromuscular tension of cancer treatment is not well established. This study investigates the comparative effectiveness of a multi-modal, facility-based program (elastic band resistance exercise combined with progressive muscle relaxation) versus a self-directed home-based elastic band resistance exercise program. The supervised, multi-modal intervention is hypothesized to offer superior results in muscle mass, physical performance, and quality of life compared to isolated resistance training.
