Walking is one of the best exercises to improve your overall health and well-being. But what if you're being treated for lung cancer? In the past, lung cancer patients were often told to limit physical activity, but recent studies have shown that cancer patients benefit from exercise. MayoClinic.com advises lung cancer patients to stay active: "For the most part, if you feel well enough to do something, go ahead and do it."
Post-Treatment Lifestyle
The National Cancer Institute has funded several ongoing studies into what it calls "a relatively new but fast-moving" research topic -- how lifestyle choices, including exercise, affect post-treatment cancer survivors. NCI reports that it's not yet known if exercise will keep cancer survivors alive longer, but the research done so far shows the promise of improving patients' length of life, as well as improving their quality of life.
Benefits for All Patients
A 2010 study by researchers at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center showed that patients recovering from lung cancer surgery can "tolerate and benefit from" exercise started as soon as four weeks after surgery. Lead researcher on the Duke study, Lee Jones, told CureToday.com that exercise can improve breathlessness in lung cancer patients and also help with fatigue, sleeplessness and depression. Jones says these benefits apply to all lung cancer patients, no matter what stage your cancer is in or what your treatment has been.
FitSTEPS for Life
Another advocate for exercise for cancer patients is Dr. Gary Kimmel, who founded the Cancer Foundation for Life "to better the lives of cancer survivors through exercise." CFL aims to develop a widely accepted exercise program that would be a routine part of cancer treatments. CFL's FitSTEPS for Life program offers free individualized exercise programs for cancer survivors. Lung cancer patients are welcome. "We really like to get lung patients into our program," Kimmel says, "because I don't care what state they're in, they can usually be significantly improved."
Starting Small is OK
If you can't walk far before getting short of breath, Kimmel recommends walking 25 feet, then taking a short rest, then walking another 25 feet, then resting again, and then repeating the cycle. Kimmel also notes that counting steps or using a pedometer is a good idea for lung cancer patients who are measuring small improvements. And you don't have to put on your jogging clothes: Just parking a little farther away at the grocery store will add a few more "steps" to your fitness routine.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Lung Cancer: Coping and Support
- National Cancer Institute: Cancer Survivorship Research: Research Focus Areas
- DukeHealth.org: Lung Cancer Patients Can Tolerate Post-Surgery Exercise, and Can Benefit from It
- CureToday.com: Lung Cancer and Exercise?
- FitSTEPS for Life: What is FitSTEPS for Life?
