Physical Activity and its Relationship with Fighting Cancer

I have told people that having to get out of bed and take care of my horses was a big motivator to me during my cancer treatments and surgeries. It sounds like I was putting my horses ahead of my daughters, but in reality, I knew my daughters would receive the care they needed. Besides my husband, there was family and friends frequently in play to cover that base. But my barn family was a different story. Their needs gave me a strong pull out of bed every morning, every day. And once I got there, I was encouraged by being around them and I built my physical strength and confidence in providing their care.

David Haas stumbled across my blog some time ago, and read about my approach and management of my health situation, and was interested in guest-posting here.

Here is his bio from Mesothelioma.com : Joining the organization in 2011, David Haas is a cancer support group and awareness program advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. In addition to researching the many valuable programs available to our site’s visitors, David often blogs about programs and campaigns underway at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, as well as creative fitness ideas for those dealing with cancer, while creating relationships with similar organizations.

David can be reached at dhaas@mesotheliomacanceralliance.org

I completely concur with David's article which follows:

Regular physical exercise has been cited in many circles to improve overall health. Being physically active can, for instance, reduce body fat, which is usually the cause of many health conditions. Many health experts also recommend it, but exactly how does it relate with the fight against cancer?

Physical exercise and cancer

Cancer treatment processes such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy may cause fatigue in patients. Fatigue related to cancer is more severe, causes more distress, and is not likely to go away by taking a nap or resting. Physical therapy and exercise is recommended for cancer-related fatigue. Moderate exercise helps to reduce this type of fatigue.

Engaging in physical activity reduces stress levels and improves mood. This is important for people diagnosed with cancer, since they need to maintain a positive attitude to cope with emotional trauma. It is not clear how exercise affects mesothelioma treatment and other types of cancer as studies indicate.

Research relating exercise with cancer

There are numerous studies that have been conducted to determine how physical activity affects the healing of people diagnosed with cancer. Although no definitive proof exists that cancer is affected by exercise, some studies have indicated a possible relationship. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has tracked several studies that sought to find out the effects of physical exercise on cancer. Studies have indicated that physical exercise help to reduce fatigue, improve energy balance, and improve quality of life for patients with breast cancer. The studies also indicated that women who maintained an active lifestyle after diagnosis had improved rates of survival.

More studies suggested that physical exercise improves the prognosis of people who are diagnosed with colon cancer. The studies indicated that although physical activity before diagnosis did not affect survival, people who had more physical activity after diagnosis had reduced chances of recurrence. The results are summarized by NCI at their website below.

Physical and emotional strain of cancer

Diagnosis of cancer usually leads to harsh treatment procedures to ensure that the cancer doesn’t spread or grow. This causes major physical strain on the body and also emotional strain. As a result, remedial measures are required to ensure that you maintain your body in a healthy state to fight cancer.

From me, again: Get out of bed, even if it is to sit on the porch in the sun. Find something to do, especially things that produce something to show, i.e. knitting, scrapbooking, painting, etc. Have something to show for your time. Not tv or web-surfing. Don't spend all your time surfing cancer bulletin boards. Live the life you have been given. It's all you've got. :)