Running, walking and cancer survival

Kayrem

hi has anyone read this article on Science daily?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/14012...

It talks about the benefits of exercise and cancer mortality.  I can not run as it hurts my joints but I have bought an elliptical machine (better on the joints) and I am doing 35 mins 5 days a week, hoping to get up to 45 mins 7 days a week. 

The key seems to be you have to do something (anything?) that causes you to sweat and raises your respiration I believe.

Thought I would pass this info on. 

agatha6

thank you! I am encouraged by this article, any more info on the specifics of exercise would be appreciate if anyone else has info!

Agatha

ruthbru

If you want some exercise buddies, come on over to the 'Lets Post Our Daily Exercise' thread on the fitness forum. Ladies in all stages of treatment & beyond, and at all exercise levels. Great motivation, support, and fun!

breastcancerhusband

very interesting indeed. couple this with a low fat diet as well.

My wife has just been diagnosed,  2.3cm tumour, 0/4 nodes, medullary-like carcinoma, ER/PR & Her neg. She is 33 and pregnant with our second child. We're going to beat this and so are all of you.

I was already thinking about exercise and diet post treatment and have appointments with personal trainers booked to get advice. I will post what they say.  As for diet, cut out the fat and sugar, but do it gradually. Don't just suddenly change, you'll cope with the change better if you taper sugar and fat out.

To get into running though, simply google something like "12 weeks first steps running programme" As an alternative, swimming is just as good.

agatha6

breastcancerhusband please post what you learn! I'm so sorry to hear about your wife's diagnosis, and during pregnancy of all times. We have a family too, I was diagnosed while breast feeding but my onc said the tumor was there during the pregnancy too, it just went undetected. I am glad your wife's was discovered early and there was no node involvement. I hope she tolerates treatment well and is able to stay active during treatment. I heard of a lady at the center I went to that taught Zumba throughout treatment! My onc says staying active during treatment helps post treatment recovery because it keeps your strength up. Will look up the running program! Thank you!

Agatha

NatsFan

Just want to expand a bit on what Kay said - exercise is great, but doing too much too soon can backfire by slowing recovery and increasing the risk for things like lymphedema (LE).  Also, active treatment hits everyone differently.  Some people sail through chemo and can engage in vigorous exercise.  Others are hit hard - I was one of those - and it was all I could do to drag myself to work and back during chemo, which was very demoralizing because I'd been super active prior to dx.  I finally had to accept that I couldn't be as active as I wanted to be during chemo.  I did what I could, but on days when I couldn't do much, I accepted that as well.

BCH - since your wife had nodes removed, she is at an increased risk for LE.  If it hasn't been done already, she could ask for a referral to a qualified LE therapist to be evaluated for LE.  The LE therapist will take baseline measurements, and teach her risk reduction measures.  The therapist can also help her design an exercise program that will minimize the risk of triggering lymphedema.  

In the meantime, there's a thread in the Exercise section about Guidelines on Exercise for Those With/At Risk for Lymphedema:  https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/58/topic...

The thread has links to handouts about exercise - one for the survivor herself about how to resume an exercise program, and a second handout for personal trainers, fitness instructors, etc. with guidelines on working with b/c survivors.

And I second Ruth's invitation for anyone interested in exercise to come over to the Let's Post Our Daily Exercise thread -

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/58/topic/...

Lots of fun and positive encouragement!

breastcancerhusband

Thanks for the replies ladies. Don't worry i won't be pushing my darling too hard (I'll sign her up for a marathon!). But seriously, I totally agree that its highly important to strike a good balance between getting back in shape and using exercise as a positive, but not over doing it.

I've got a few meetings lined up now with personal trainers in the UK who have experience of post-chemo and post-surgery recovery, so will hopefull get some good tips.

With regards to lymphedema - with only four nodes removed I think the risk is relatively low, but I've got her doing the exercises!

Thanks for the support

Hugs and prayers for you all.

xxxx