Nine Benefits of Regular Exercise
According to Breastcancer.org, women with breast cancer who exercise regularly gain the following health benefits: *http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/exercise/why
1. Lower your cancer risk. Regular exercise lowers the risk of breast cancer coming back, as well as reducing the risk of ever being diagnosed with breast cancer. Exercise also can lower your risk of cancers of the colon, lung, and uterus.
2. Maintain a healthy weight. Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight by building muscle and burning fat. Overweight and obese women— defined as having a BMI (body mass index) of over 25— have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women with a healthy weight, especially after menopause. Being overweight also can increase the risk of the breast cancer coming back (recurrence) in women who have had the disease. This higher risk occurs because fat cells make estrogen, and more estrogen in the body may promote the growth of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers.
3. Fewer and less severe side effects from treatment. Research suggests that exercise can:
- Ease nausea during chemotherapy
- Improve blood flow to the legs, reducing the risk of blood clots
- Ease constipation by stimulating digestion and elimination systems
- Improve your sex drive and enhance arousal
- Ease fatigue caused by radiation and/or chemotherapy
- Live longer. Though the issue is complex, research suggests that exercise may improve survival for breast cancer survivors, as exercise would help survivors maintain a healthy weight.
4. Better mobility. Scar tissue that forms after breast cancer surgery, reconstruction, or radiation can lead to your arm and shoulder muscles feeling tight. Not using your arm and shoulder as much after treatment also can cause the muscles in those areas to lose flexibility. Over time, careful stretching exercises can improve any range of motion issues you may have in your arm and shoulder.
5. More muscle and strength. As most people age, they tend to lose muscle and gain fat. Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy medicines can throw you into sudden menopause, which also can cause muscle mass to decrease. Strength training exercises can help make sure you have more muscle than fat — which means you’ll be
6. Keep your bones healthy. As you age, you lose bone mass. If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, maintaining healthy bones is especially important for you. Research shows that some breast cancer treatments can lead to bone loss. Plus, women are about twice as likely as men to develop osteoporosis (a disease that means your bones are weak and more likely to break) after age 50. Weight-bearing exercise, such as jogging or walking and strength training, can slow bone loss.
7. Feel better about yourself. A breast cancer diagnosis can leave some women feeling scared, depressed, and anxious. Exercise can help lift your spirits, keep depression at bay, and boost your self-esteem. Physical activity triggers the release of brain chemicals such as endorphins that can make you feel happier and more relaxed. You also might feel better about yourself and your appearance if you exercise regularly and see a fit, strong, toned woman looking back at you in the mirror.
8. Sleep better. If you struggle with insomnia or wake up a lot at night, regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply.
9. Less stressed. Any type of exercise can help melt away stress. Besides pumping up endorphin production in the brain, exercise can be a type of meditation. By focusing on just one task – running or dancing or whatever you’re doing — you may find that you forget the day’s annoyances and settle into a calm, clear state of mind.
Information taken from breastcancer.org
Rehabilitative Exercises
Research suggests that any amount of exercise is better than none, and more is generally better than less. It is recommended that women diagnosed with breast cancer undertake the same amount of exercise as is recommended for all adults – at least two-and-a-half hours of moderate intensity exercise per week (or 30 minutes five times a week). ‘Moderate intensity exercise’ makes breathing a bit harder, but does not make you feel completely out of breath.
Exercise is an important part of breast cancer treatment and recovery. Exercising the arm and shoulder after breast cancer helps (via Canadian Cancer Society):
- Improve muscle tone
- Regain and maintain movement and mobility in the arm and shoulder
- Regain the ability to do daily activities
- Lessen side effects of surgery, such as pain, joint stiffness, and swelling
- Improve well-being
Rehabilitative exercises that have been recommended for women who have undergone surgery or who are going through treatment include:
- Walking or jogging
- Swimming or water aerobics
- Gym classes, such as aerobics or step classes
- Yoga or Pilates
- Dragon boat racing.
Research with breast cancer survivors have shown that exercise can help you improve (via Alberta Health Services):
- Your self-esteem
- Your weight management
- Your memory to reduce ‘chemobrain’ symptoms
- Your muscle and bone strength
- Your life expectancy
- The chances that you will live longer
If you have radiation therapy after surgery, exercises are even more important to help keep your arm and shoulder flexible. Even if you don’t have surgery, radiation therapy may affect your arm and shoulder long after treatment is finished. Because of this, it is important to develop a regular habit of doing exercises to maintain arm and shoulder mobility after radiation treatments for breast cancer.
For exercises specifically designed for breast cancer survivors, please visit the following links:
Breath of Life – Rethink breast cancer’s live laugh learn program – Breath of Life is a set of instructions on yogic breathing exercises in the kundalini yoga tradition. This handout was developed by Integrated Cancer Coach Marise Foster for one of Rethink’s Live Laugh Learn gatherings. The various benefits of these exercises include activating the lymphatic system and increasing oxygenation, lung capacity & vitality.
Rehabilitation exercises after breast cancer treatment – Canadian Cancer Society – After breast cancer surgery, the arm and shoulder on the side where the woman had surgery can become stiff and sore. Radiation therapy can also cause changes to the flexibility of the arm and shoulder. Rehabilitation exercises after breast cancer treatment can help a woman regain and maintain movement and mobility in the arm and shoulder.