Exercise:  Wonder "Drug" with Your Cancer Treatments

By Sheila Cluff

     The diagnosis was tough to hear.  Suddenly you're part of a "club" you never wanted to join.  You probably wondered, "What should I do now?"

     About a year ago, I sat with a BFF after she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Carcinoma.  I wasn't just holding her hand and listening to hear fears.  I was thinking how cancer doesn't care who it hits and its repercussions forever scar its target and their families, friends and coworkers.  We hugged and I thought of a statistic that I'd read that morning and which kept playing in my head, like when you can't get the tune "It's a Small World" out of your brain.  It was that over a million and a half of us, this year, will hear a doctor say, "It's cancer."

     Until just recently, exercise wasn't part of any therapeutic program for cancer patients.  Oncologists told all their patients to, "Take it easy until you're feeling better."   Now, there's a newly accepted "partner" to help you and other cancer patients get through treatments without as much fatigue and depression so you can thrive on that journey to strong and vibrant health.

      It's exercise.  It's being called a "wonder drug."

      "Cancer patients would be shocked if they knew just how much of a benefit physical activity could have on their recovery and long-term health," Ciaran Devane, chief executive of the British Macmillan Cancer Support, explained in a recent report, www.macmillian.org.uk.  The "Move More" report looked at 60 studies and surveyed over 400 health professionals to show how important exercise was to cancer treatment.  The report said doing recommended levels of 150 minutes per week could reduce a breast cancer patient's risk of recurrence or dying by 40 percent and a prostate cancer patient's risk of dying by 30 percent. Exercise also helps curtail side effects like fatigue, depression, osteoporosis, and heart disease for all cancer patients. More physical activity can also reduce the risk of colon cancer by as much as 50 percent, the report said.

     "'It doesn't need to be anything too strenuous, doing some work in the garden, going for a brisk walk or a swim all count," Devane said.  Even household chores like mopping the floor, washing the car and cutting the lawn can be part of your exercise therapy.

     Macmillan's chief medical officer, oncologist Dr. Jane Maher, said in a written statement that health care professionals need to undergo a "cultural change" and make exercise an integral part of cancer care. The report found over half of general practitioners, oncologists, and nurses don't tell their patients the benefits of physical exercise. Maher once counted herself as one of these uninformed physicians.  Before the release of the study, she would have told those in treatment to slow their pace.  Maher said. "This has now changed significantly."

     Before you dash out for a hike, discuss this column with your oncologist.

     Have you just had surgery?  Your surgeon will tell you when it's safe to begin working out again.  For instance, after a lymphadenectomy, the surgical removal and dissection of lymph nodes, your surgical team may tell you not lift weights or do repetitive exercise with the effective limb for some time, often as long as a year.

     Are you having chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or radiation treatments?  If you're experiencing unpleasant side effects, such as pain and nausea, before you start exercising, you'll want to get these challenges under control first.  Doctors and cancer patients say, "Don't try to tough it out. Ask your doctor for medications that can help so you can begin an exercise program."

     Some medications, chemotherapy and other treatments may adversely affect your balance.   Hence, become creative and do water exercise, a stationary bicycle, or seated exercise to ensure your safety.

     If you've been inactive, begin very slowly to incorporate more movement into your life.  This might mean a five minute walk around your neighborhood or a short time puttering in the garden.

     Last year one of my best and long-time friends and colleagues "Eva" was having chemo for Stage 2 breast cancer.  Normally she'd be briskly walking miles each day.  But the treatments, she said, "Threw me on my backside.  The first seven days after chemo, I only managed a half-mile stroll and on the days I felt stronger, I did more."  Now?  She's back to four miles each morning.

     During treatment, immune systems may be compromised.  Your oncologist might recommend avoiding the fitness center where contact with germs could kick you to the sidelines.  If you go, use antibacterial spray to cleanse equipment, including yoga mats, before beginning to exercise.

     While exercise and movement is encouraged during cancer treatments, a weight loss diet is not.  Ask your cancer team about nutrition during this period.  You'll have time in the future to trim down.

     Cancer's diagnosis, surgery and therapy changes lives and with exercise, a proven wonder drug, added to the treatments you can and will stay fit for life.

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Sheila Cluff, fitness expert, motivational speaker, master figure skater and owner of The Oaks at Ojai, is the author of “Sit, Strengthen & Stretch,” a book of nine simple exercises that can be done at your desk and proven to increase flexibility and core strength and “Take 5: How You Can Benefit from Just Five Minutes of Daily Exercise.”  Learn all that is happening at The Oaks at Ojai at www.oaksspa.com

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