Good Morning All You Witches and Ghouls:
As today marks the wife’s 4# birthday, it also marks the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Therefore, I think I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight the “positive” correlation between that awful disease and exercise.
It has long been believed that a high level of estrogen in women is a major contributor to one’s risk of developing breast cancer. And since exercise lowers the level of the hormone, doctors now speculate that a consistent fitness program, that includes exercise and weight loss, may work together in its prevention.
Dr. Anne McTiernan, an internist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, found that the women in her study who exercised the most had a 22% decreased risk of developing the disease.
While it’s true that other studies have shown no significant relationship between a fit lifestyle and breast cancer, when it comes to recovering from it, there is no argument.
Many studies have shown that exercise can be an effective treatment for all cancer patients. Elizabeth Quinn writes in her article, Exercise as Cancer Treatment, “…exercise had a positive effect on physical and psychological functioning of cancer patients while in treatment.” And she noted that, suffering patients who exercised experienced fat loss, a decrease in nausea and fatigue, higher self-esteem and a better quality of life.
In fact, even if you’ve had a breast biopsy, lymph node biopsy or removal, lumpectomy or mastectomy, exercise helps to decrease any lingering side effects of the surgery and get you back to your normal daily activities quickly.
If you’ve had radiation therapy, exercise is important to help keep your arm and shoulder flexible. Radiation therapy may limit your arm and shoulder range-of-motion (ROM) for up to 6 to 9 months after your last session. Exercising these areas will help keep their ROM from
getting shorter.
Remember, it is very important to talk with your doctor before starting any exercises so that you can decide on a program that is right for you. Your doctor may suggest that you talk with a physical therapist or occupational therapist who can design an exercise program just for you.
