Exercising regularly can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and a host of other diseases. Research also shows that exercise can help you survive early stage breast cancer. If you're diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, regular exercise can improve your quality of life, help you cope with treatment, increase your chances of survival and provide psychological benefits. No matter your age or physical condition when you're diagnosed, exercising can deliver benefits.
Exercise and Mortality
In 2007, researchers at the University of California San Diego studied 1,490 women with early stage breast cancer. The women who walked briskly for 30 minutes a day six days a week, and ate at least five servings of vegetables a day, decreased their risk of death by 50 percent. It didn't matter if the women were overweight or how old they were, only that they exercised regularly and ate a balanced diet. The mortality rate during the 11 years of the study for these women was 7 percent, compared to 14 percent for women in the study who weren't active.
Other Benefits
A diagnosis of cancer and undergoing treatment places psychological as well as physical stress on the patient. Exercise helps relieve stress and contributes to a feeling of well being. Psychologist Paul Salmon and exercise physiologist Ann Swank, writing in the November 2002 issue of the "Journal of Exercise Physiology," reported that even patients who had not exercised before, who began a very modest exercise program, reported perceived health benefits beyond those they actually realized. Exercise made them feel better and that is a great benefit in itself. Exercise can also boost the immune system, which can counteract some of the immune suppressing side effects of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Regular exercise may help you sleep better, improve appetite and help you deal with the side effects of your treatment.
Type of Exercise
Surgery to remove breast tissue and/or lymph nodes can result in swelling and weakness in the muscles of the arms on the side of the surgery. Activities such as lifting weights or swimming may be uncomfortable. Salmon and Swank recommend cycling and walking as good exercise for cancer patients. Some patients also benefit from mind-body exercise such as yoga or tai chi, which combines mindfulness with movement. A 2009 study on 44 women published in "Psycho- Oncology" found that one form of yoga, restorative yoga, decreased depression in study participants by 50 percent and increased feelings of peacefulness by 12 percent.
How Much Exercise?
Exercising 30 minutes a day most days a week conveyed benefits to the women in the UCSD study and other studies. If you find yourself too weak or fatigued to exercise this much, break your workouts into shorter sessions.
References
- "Medill Reports"; Restorative Yoga May Have Positive Effects for Breast Cancer Patients; Tara S. Kerpelman; February 2009
- "Journal of Exercise Physiology"; Exercise-Based Disease Management Guidelines for Individuals With Cancer; Paul G. Salmon and Ann M. Swank; November 2002
- Cornell University: Diet and Lifestyle and Survival From Breast Cancer
- "UCSD News Center"; Diet and Exercise Key to Surviving Breast Cancer, Regardless of Obesity, New UCSD Study Says; Nancy Stringer; June 2007
