IX/76. Exercise
Exercise is your greatest personal anti-cancer weapon.
Exercise does two great things for the cancer patient: it makes your body healthier and more cancer-resistant; it makes your mind more positive and eager to fight.
––John Roberts
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.
•Reduce your chance of developing heart disease.
•Reduce your risk of stroke.
•Lower your risk of developing certain cancers.
•Prevent and treat high blood pressure.
•Prevent and treat diabetes.
•Burn fat and build muscle.
•Strengthen your bones.
•Improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
•Prevent and treat lower back problems.
•Reduce stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression.
•Reduce your risk of developing glaucoma.
•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.
