CBS News reported that cancer patients can dramatically reduce their risk of death and recurrence if they included regular exercise with their treatment. According to CBS News, breast cancer patients could reduce the risk of death or recurrence by up to 40 percent, prostate cancer patients saw a reduced risk of death by up to 30 percent and colon cancer risks were reduced as much as 50 percent.
The report pointed out that the exercise did not need to be strenuous. Even gardening or swimming could have the same protective results as long as the minimum 150 minutes a week was met. Even mesothelioma doctors can see the benefit of exercise in patients. All cancer patients have seen improved energy, lower rates of depression, decreased osteoporosis risks and improved heart health while performing exercise.
Physical fitness is not only important during treatment; it is vital to continue after the cancer has gone into remission or been removed through surgical means. Cancer patients have a higher risk of developing the same or different cancers later in life than those who have never been diagnosed with cancer. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle after cancer treatments are complete and continuing to make exercise part of a daily routine can dramatically reduce this higher risk.
Appropriate forms of exercise will vary depending on the type of cancer patients face. Each cancer has different effects on the body, so the exercise must help balance these impacts. For example, if the cancer causes weight gain as is seen in breast cancer, patients should work on exercises that help bring down body weight to healthy ranges. On the other hand, cancers that cause muscle wasting such as patients who develop cancers of the gastrointestinal tract often see should seek to battle the loss of muscle mass by working on weight training instead.
A cancer diagnosis does not mean it is the end. It is possible to fight cancer through traditional treatments, exercise and a healthy lifestyle to improve survival rates. It is possible to survive cancer and live for years.
Article written by: David Haas
