Breast Cancer and Exercise

Breast Cancer and Exercise

In the US, around 40,000 women are dying each year from breast cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The greatest risk factor for developing breast cancer is gender (female) and the second is age. Between 2000-2004, 95 percent of new cases and 97 percent of breast cancer deaths occurred in women aged 40 and older. Like most cancers, the causes are uncertain. While no one knows with any certainty how to prevent the occurnce of breast cancer, we do have control over many aspects of our lives that can protect our health and also enhance our recovery, Regardless of our genetic make-up, there are a number of things that we, as women, can do to protect ourselves. Mamograms and self-examinations are critical to our health, as well as our lifestyle choices, such as exercise and diet.
So what can we do if are diagnosed with breast cancer and undergo treatment and therapy?
A daily walk around the block, a few laps in the pool, a vigorous game of soccer: studies are now suggesting that exercise is extending the lives of women who've survived breast cancer, even as it lifts their spirits and increases their sense of well being. Being physically active boosts the odds that breast cancer patients will survive the disease, according to the first study to produce evidence that exercise improves the prospects of beating any malignancy.
The findings, from a large, well-respected study of U.S. nurses, found that breast cancer patients who walk or do other kinds of moderate exercise for three to five hours a week are about 50 percent less likely to die from the disease than sedentary women.
"Women with breast cancer have little to lose and much to gain from exercise," said Michelle D. Holmes of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, who led the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "This is good news for women with breast cancer."
Dealing with any life threatening disease is much more than just therapies and protocols. The diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer can often leave women feeling hopeless and powerless, in addition to the fear associated with any type of cancer. Besides the obvious physical benefits coming from exercise, being active, especially with others, can ease the sense of fear and loneliness that often comes from such a diagnosis. Exercise gives us all the opportunity to view our bodies as a friend instead of a part of our lives that we must “deal” with. Exercise and activity, regardless of one’s condition, increases our general outlook and sense of well-being.
"Exercise empowers these women with a tool that's there at their disposal," said Dr. Cheryl Perkins, senior clinical advisor at the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, one of the nation's largest organizations dedicated to fighting the disease. "The benefit correlated with the amount of exercise. So, the more exercise, the better survival," Perkins said.
"One of the biological theories as to why exercise might be a good tool for reducing risk or in prevention is that it can reduce obesity, and obesity is known to increase circulating estrogen," Perkins said. High levels of circulating estrogen are thought to greatly increase a woman's risk for breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence.
Still, for most breast cancer survivors past the active-treatment stage of their care, "there's no limit as far as the capacity to do vigorous exercise," she said.
Of course, exercise can be a tonic for the mind as well as the body.
"It simply increases your sense of wellness," Perkins explained. "It helps increase your stamina in the long run. It's good on a lot of levels."
Perkins should know, since she's a long-term breast cancer survivor herself. She credits regular exercise with helping her stay fit in her fight against the disease.
We have been honored at Fitness Together to have many breast cancer survivors as clients and to be considered part of their return to a normal and healthy life. All of our programs are tailored to fit the exact needs of our clients, regardless of their condition.

LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers