Background

Part IX. Physical Fitness

Concentrate on your healthy body as much as your cancer.

The fitness of your mind and the fitness of your body are synergistic and give mutual support. The weakness of one endangers the health of the other.

––John Roberts

Nature is entirely neutral; she submits to him who most energetically and resolutely assails her. She grants her rewards to the fittest.

––William Graham Sumner, The Challenge of Facts, 1880

There’s an avalanche of neuroscience to support that [physical] exercise is good for the brain….Exercise can help turn off the death march of cells both in our bodies and our brains.

––John J. Ratey, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry,

Harvard Medical School

Mounting evidence suggests that regular aerobic exercise may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, particularly colon, lung, prostate, and breast cancer. It is believed that the lower risk is due to immune system improvements or more efficient elimination of free radicals––highly reactive molecules that can damage or kill important cellular components such as DNA or cell membranes. In patients already diagnosed with cancer, preliminary studies show that exercise has a positive physical, mental and emotional effect; it improves strength, the performance of daily activities, and the ability to battle the nausea and fatigue caused by chemotherapy. Regular exercise may also help prevent mental decline.

––Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Editor,

The Johns Hopkins Medical Guide to Health After 50, 2002

Regular physical activity can help us recover more quickly, heal more easily, and get an edge over all kinds of disease and injury. In fact, exercise may just be nature’s best medicine….Good fitness has global healing effects, working simultaneously on multiple systems to improve mental, spiritual and physical health. Exercise aids nearly every system in the body.

––Susan Gaines, “How Exercise Heals,” Experience Life, Nov 2007

There are many degrees of physical fitness. I have cancer, but I can do 30 hilly miles on my mountain bike at age 73 because of a lifetime of exercise attacking mountains and marathons. At the other extreme, there are weak and elderly cancer patients, who have not exercised in years of sedentary life and decline; but, they can use mild stretching, walking and lifting to improve their vitality and mental outlook. Studies show that everyone on this wide spectrum will benefit both physically and mentally from whatever degree of exercise and fitness they can manage. In fact, the irony is that a little exercise by a very weak person with withered muscles who does not feel like getting out of bed helps renew the positive attitude that motivates doing that exercise. The egg comes before the chicken. So, no matter how you feel, get some exercise and, before you know it, you will feel like doing more and more. And, you will have taken one of the major steps to help the brain and body fight cancer. Obviously this should be done cautiously with the advice and approval of a doctor, and an ill person must be alert to signs of a problem.`

Exercise is the one Magic Bullet that helps prevent and treat all of the major chronic diseases. It positively affects attitude, mental strength, will to live, independence, self-respect, sleep, mobility, endurance, balance, blood pressure, bones, lungs, heart, blood pressure, muscles, and various other mental and physical qualities or ills. It is free, you can do it almost anywhere, and you are probably adding both quantity and quality to you life. Yet, there are many cancer patients who can’t seem to get across the bridge of motivation and get started. What is worse, I see many people who have not yet reached senior citizen status or become chronically ill who have no exercise program at all. Their laziness is shortening their life while they are healthy enough to engage in a highly beneficial program.

Regularity, goals, and a sense of optimistic motivation are necessary to a successful program. Caregivers can do much to help patients talk to a doctor, get started, and maintain a motivated and increasing effort. To some degree, exercise should challenge the body and mind, with the result that ability and results increase as the program is increased. It is therefore essential for the patient to know the benefit of getting a little tired or sore, so long as that does not overdo the doctor’s guidelines. Most of all the patient must understand the value and potential.

VIII/74. Fitness

Exercise is your greatest personal anti-cancer weapon.

Today there is a wealth of scientific data showing the preventive and healing power of physical activity….If exercise could be bottled, it would be the most widely prescribed medication in the world. Regular physical exercise can accomplish the following:

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Increase your life span.

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Reduce your chance of developing heart disease.

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Reduce your risk of stroke.

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Lower your risk of developing certain cancers.

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Prevent and treat high blood pressure.

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Prevent and treat diabetes.

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Burn fat and build muscle.

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Strengthen your bones.

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Improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

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Prevent and treat lower back problems.

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Reduce stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression.

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Reduce your risk of developing glaucoma.

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Boost your energy level.

––Linn Goldberg, M.D. and Diane L. Elliot, M.D.,

The Healing Power of Exercise, 2000.

Common sense tells us that resting more will make us feel better, but with cancer, rest often is not restorative. Although we may feel too tired to move, activity is key to avoiding the debilitating effects of inactivity….Fatigue is the number one side effect of cancer and its treatments. It is the most pervasive and disruptive side effect of cancer treatment and affects nearly 100 percent of patients. Researchers have observed that fatigue has a profoundly negative effect on quality of life. The exciting news is that moderate exercise of short duration preformed at least every other day, is sufficient to reduce fatigue.

––Anna L. Schwartz, Cancer Fitness, 2004

Fitness means training your mind and body to be able to function at increased capacity. The more you do that, the greater your likelihood of successfully treating or curing your cancer. Although much depends on previous history of fitness and exercise training, and the course of cancer may weaken ability, the patient will benefit from regular training within energy and pain restraints. Add strength to either your mind or your body, and the other will immediately feel better and do better.

High fitness increases the ability of the immune system to fulfill its function of attacking the enemy bacteria, viruses and cells in our body that constantly attempt to gain strength and multiply. Even when the immune system is no longer able to contain them, fitness lengthens the time over which they become serious disease. Fitness also helps rebuild the immune system after chemotherapy and other treatments. The immune system also fights the common ills that may weaken our resolve and ability to fight. Exercise for anyone will Improve self-respect, increase social activity and increase the feeling of well-being that enables other positive activities and attitudes.

An exercise program is increasingly seen as an essential and effective part of the therapy that fights cancer. Fitness and exercise efforts by a cancer patient or increased efforts by any person, especially an elderly one, should be discussed with a doctor in order to focus on specific areas and prevent overdoing the effort. It is never too late to start. The world is full of heart attack victims who took up running and are now in remarkable good health. Part of excellent health is attending to many care problems at once.

It is easy to exercise when you feel great, a lot more difficult when you feel terrible. You have to believe that some exercise will not only make you feel better but aid in fighting cancer beneath the surface. Even seriously-ill patients who stopped exercise years earlier can benefit from a mild program that restores function and strength to muscles, bones and attitudes.

Some cancers tend to spread first to the bones; at the worst, this can lead to weak bones, fractures, immobility and surgery. As you get older, other problems such as osteoporosis or osteoarthritis may cause problems. Exercise can help prevent or postpone these dangers.

New exercise guidelines - 2009

Released by The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine and reported in the journal Circulation (Volume 116, page 1094):

Adults ages 65 and older should engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity five days a week or at least 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity three days a week. A mix of the two intensities (for instance, brisk walking for 30 minutes and jogging for 20 minutes twice a week each) as well as short bursts of exercise for 10 minutes each will suffice. These exercise recommendations are the same as those for ages 18–65, except what is considered aerobic activity for the older group may be less intense depending on a person's fitness level.

Older people are also recommended to perform both strength-training exercises and flexibility exercises at least twice a week as well as balance exercises. The exercise guidelines -- which update recommendations issued in 1995 -- highlight that the more exercise one engages in, the better the health-protective benefits. Previously, light-intensity activities of daily living, like casual walking and grocery shopping, could be counted toward one's daily exercise total; now, however, it's believed that they aren't performed for a long enough period of time (if less than ten minutes) or at enough intensity to offer the needed benefit.

Fitness: How I Fight

Fitness injects positive energy into your brain and body.

Fitness may be the most important contribution you personally can make to the success of your fight against cancer. It has so many benefits, both mental and physical, that it is absolutely essential that you find the consistent motivation to train your brain and body for the rest of your life. Otherwise, much of all your other effort will be wasted or unsuccessful.

––John Roberts

Exercise will help prevent illness and disease––including cancer. It will help you lose weight––and keep it off. It will slow the aging process, making you look and feel younger than your years. It will give you energy and increase your self-esteem. It will reduce stress, fight depression and anxiety, and put you in a better mood. It will make you stronger and healthier. It will improve your posture, your flexibility, your balance and your endurance. It will even help you sleep better….Regular, old-fashioned, sweat-inducing exercise is probably the single most important thing you can do to age successfully. Even in moderate amounts, exercise can help you enjoy life and avoid diseases

––Diane Dahm, M.D. and Jay Smith, M.D., Ed.

Mayo Clinic Fitness for Everybody, 2005

Lacking other athletic skills, I ran my first competition mile in high school, lettered in college, ran the Marine Corps Marathon at age 48, and ran for fun and fitness until my knees finally gave out at age 70. I played tennis, racquetball, and squash for 40 years, and trained to climb high mountains by running in the hills around them in heavy plastic climbing boots. Now, I can still do 30 hilly miles on my mountain bike, and I keep my bones and muscles strong at a fitness club. After a few hours at my computer, I fit in part of my daily fitness exercises to pick me up. Add in a healthy diet and the absence of other chronic diseases at age 74, and I am probably healthier than almost any cancer patient. When they put me on the table, the doc is going to say, “Well, he’s dead all right, but he sure was in good shape.”