EXERCISE FOR CANCER PATIENTS: FITNESS AFTER TREATMENT

Surviving cancer and making it through cancer treatment are major accomplishments. Most, if not all, survivors find a new priority in life: keeping cancer from returning. The latest research suggests that exercise for cancer patients may help.

If you’ve made it through the rough road of cancer diagnosis and treatment, you’re probably thinking about what you can do to stay healthy. There’s abundant evidence that exercise and eating right can help prevent people from getting cancer. The latest information shows that exercise for cancer patients can also keep cancer from recurring.

Exercise has many of the same benefits for cancer survivors as it does for other people. Some of these benefits include an increased level of fitness, greater muscle strength, leaner body mass, and less weight gain.

When to Start

Studies show that after a cancer diagnosis, people slow down. Stress, depression, and feeling sick or fatigued from cancer or its treatment all tend to make people less active.

The problem is, most people stay sedentary after treatment, as a long-term solution to the problem of fatigue, taking it easy and avoiding activity is not a good solution

What to Do

Every person’s situation is different. Before starting a moderate to vigorous exercise program, see your doctor.

The following types of exercise can help cancer patients - get back in shape:

• Flexibility exercises. Stretching is important to keep moving, to maintain mobility. If you’re not yet ready for more vigorous exercise, you should at least stay flexible.

•Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging, and swimming. This kind of exercises helps you lose weight and builds cardiovascular fitness, which lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, and diabetes.

• Resistance training, which builds muscles. Many people lose muscle and gain fat through cancer treatment. For those with a high fat-to-lean mass ratio, resistance training can be helpful.