Karger Publishers, Complementary Medicine Research, 6(26), p. 390-397, 2019
DOI: 10.1159/000500017
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<b><i>Background:</i></b> Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common symptoms associated with cancer or its treatment. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of chickpea-based diet (Nokhodāb) on CRF in female breast cancer patients undertaking routine treatment. <b><i>Method:</i></b> Forty female patients with diagnosis of breast cancer were enrolled. The patients were asked to use a chickpea-based Persian diet daily for the period of 3 weeks. Symptom assessment was made for all women by the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) questionnaires and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). <b><i>Results:</i></b> CRF decreased significantly at the end of the study, compared to the beginning (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Mean of CFS was 40.72 before the intervention, while showing a significant decrease to 33.38 at the end of our study (<i>p</i> = 0.001). A comparison of FSS and VAS before and after intervention shows that FSS and fatigue VAS mean scores have a significant decline at the end (<i>p</i> < 0.001). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Nokhodāb, as an available diet, could be a good choice for relieving CRF in breast cancer women. Traditional/complementary medicine may present some effective therapeutic suggestions for cancer complications.