Working Out with Cancer

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

24 Jun 2006 09:30 AM

Today's cancer patient is discovering that rest isn't always the best prescription. In fact, a growing body of thought has indicated that walking, yoga and other forms of exercise can help a cancer patient endure their treatments including chemotherapy both psychologically and physically. More and more, oncologists are recommending that exercise is on par with nutrition when it comes to cancer patients.

More than 3 decades ago, my grandmother developed uterine cancer. She had a hysterectomy and months of radiation treatments and chemotherapy. Even on days when she just wanted to throw up and curl up into a ball, she would go for a walk. The walking helped to clear her head and she hated being on bed rest. For years afterward, she said what many are discovering to be true now - by taking physical control and walking, she helped herself to recover because belief in yourself is every bit as much important as all other forms of treatment.

Improving Survival Chances

Medicine has long since recognized the value of a patient's state of mind in their treatment and care. Typically, a person who exercises is a person who is going to eat better as well as work harder to stimulate their body and their mind. They are going to reach further. They are going to motivate themselves and they are far less likely to give into depression. These are all elements that improve a chance for a patient to survive even the grueling therapies associated with aggressively defeating cancer in the body.

It's important that cancer patients discuss their exercise regimen with their oncologists. That they have their support and their recommendations. In some cases, a brisk walk every day, sometimes twice a day is exactly what the doctor ordered. By stimulating the heart, you stimulate the body - you help the body fight the cancer as well as strengthen it to endure the therapies that can leave it weak and sick.

Exercise is a great way to help overcome nausea and fatigue. It's also true that chemotherapy can damage the heart and the lungs. Exercising regularly can help keep them strong and aid in their ability to heal and recover from treatment. Once upon a time, doctors believed bed rest was best - but more and more - they are beginning to understand that the human organism does better when it is required to work and to exercise in order to not only build health, but maintain it.

We'll talk more about regimens for cancer patients including different forms of exercise and working out at the gym as we go into this week.

Have you known anyone with cancer? Did exercise help them?

Related Articles:

Skin Cancer

Black Women & Breast Cancer

Fitness Tips to Live By

Chemotherapy and Complimentary Medicine

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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