Abstract: Objective To investigate the experience of rehabilitation exercise for the prevention of upper limb lymphedema in patients with breast cancer rehabilitation, to provide feasible and operative activities and exercise rehabilitation information for clinical health care personnel to guide exercise rehabilitation programs for breast cancer patients after discharge. Methods From July, 2017 to June, 2018, individualized face-to-face in-depth interviews were performed in breast cancer rehabilitation patients who had been performing upper limb lymphedema exercise for more than three times a week. The content analysis was used to analyze the data. Results Totally, 13 candidates for breast cancer rehabilitation were selected to provide experience, and their experience of breast cancer rehabilitation in preventing upper limb lymphedema were extracted, including the type, name, time, frequency and intensity of exercise, precautions, and detailed operational experience in sports rehabilitation. Conclusion The exercise rehabilitation experience of breast cancer rehabilitation patients in preventing upper limb lymphedema have been drawn, which may enrich and refine the current behavior guidelines for breast cancer rehabilitation patients to prevent upper limb lymphedema, and help to deepen the prevention of breast cancer rehabilitation. The understanding of the actual situation of upper limb lymphedema provides a reference for preventive interventions for the development of lymphedema in medical staff.

Key words: breast cancer, upper limb lymphedema, exercise rehabilitation, experience