ABC World News (8/12, story 11, 0:20, Gibson) reported that a new study "challenges some conventional wisdom for breast cancer survivors. For years, they were warned that weight training could cause painful arm swelling." But, researchers have found that "not only does it not make it worse, it actually makes the swelling go down," NBC Nightly News (8/12, story 6, 0:45, Bazell) reported.

USA Today (8/13, Szabo) reports that the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, "could change exercise recommendations for breast cancer survivors to give them the freedom to pursue a wider range of physical activities." The new findings indicate that "women with lymphedema who follow a carefully designed strength-training program can build muscle while cutting the risk of painful flare-ups in half."

ABC World News (8/12, story 11, 0:20, Gibson) reported that a new study "challenges some conventional wisdom for breast cancer survivors. For years, they were warned that weight training could cause painful arm swelling." But, researchers have found that "not only does it not make it worse, it actually makes the swelling go down," NBC Nightly News (8/12, story 6, 0:45, Bazell) reported.

USA Today (8/13, Szabo) reports that the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, "could change exercise recommendations for breast cancer survivors to give them the freedom to pursue a wider range of physical activities." The new findings indicate that "women with lymphedema who follow a carefully designed strength-training program can build muscle while cutting the risk of painful flare-ups in half."

        The AP (8/13, Marchione) reports that the study "involved 141 breast cancer survivors who had suffered lymphedema," of which "half were told not to change their exercise habits." Meanwhile, "the rest were given 90-minute weightlifting classes twice a week for 13 weeks at community gyms." Participants "wore a custom-fitted compression garment on the affected arm and gradually worked up to more challenging weights and repetitions." The women "continued these exercises on their own" for 39 weeks.

Time (8/12, Abedin) reported, "By the end of the yearlong study, the women who worked out were stronger than the non-weight lifters -- some could bench-press as much as 85 lb., while the majority were able to press dumbbells weighing more than 15 lb. -- and did not experience any more swelling than the nonlifting group." In fact, "half as many (14 percent)" women who lifted weights reported that "their symptoms had improved," compared to "their counterparts (29 percent)."

        And, although "worsening of lymphedema by at least five percent volume increase was no more common with weight training," the study also showed that "women in the weight-lifting group also had greater improvements in self-reported severity of lymphedema symptoms compared with controls," MedPage Today (8/12, Phend) reported. The researchers noted that "traditional recommendations against heavy lifting" may "have actually been counterproductive," as patients' arms were "becoming weaker and weaker."

        In an accompanying editorial , Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, a professor in the department of behavioral science at the University of Texas, stated that the findings "could help lower" the cost of "post-cancer care...and improve women's lives," HealthDay (8/12, Thomas) reported. A study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in March indicated that "women who develop lymphedema" may have "a lower quality of life," and "higher out-of-pocket medical costs after radiation and surgery." Medscape (8/12, Barclay), WebMD (8/12, Hitti), Reuters (8/13, Emery), and the Los Angeles Times (8/12) Booster Shots blog also covered the story.