Guest Blogger: The Importance of Fitness in Cancer Recovery

Guest blogger - David Haas! David is very passionate about the damage that cancer and its treatment can do to a person, and he asked if he could post an article he wrote on my blog. Though I do not want my blog to be all about cancer, since we are going into the dreaded month of Pinktober, why not?

From David:

The Importance of Fitness in Cancer Recovery

A diagnosis of cancer can be one of the most frightening things a person ever has to deal with. However, with the tremendous strides made in cancer research, it is far from the what it may have been in the past. In fact, many forms of cancer are completely curable if caught early, and many others are manageable using modern drugs and treatment methods that minimize side effects. One often neglected aspect of cancer treatment is fitness. A growing body of evidence suggests the importance of fitness in cancer recovery.

Exercise

If you're feeling weak from cancer treatment, whether it is routine treatment for a common cancer like breast cancer or specialized treatment for a rare cancer such as mesothelioma, exercise is probably the last thing on your mind. However, it's important to remember that mind, body, and spirit are interconnected. What benefits one, benefits all. A regular, safe, and reasonable expenditure of energy now, can pay off in the form of sustained energy for recovery later.

Whether you've just been diagnosed, have begun treatment, or are recovering from cancer, exercise can be very beneficial to you. Its many benefits include: helping you feel in charge of your life again; increasing your energy level and reducing fatigue; reducing nausea resulting from chemotherapy; increasing flexibility, strength, and heart and lung function; improving your mood. Exercise may consist of walking, running, yoga, dancing, aerobics, and cycling.

Nutrition

If you are undergoing certain forms of cancer treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation, your body may be taking as much of a hit as the cancer itself. Proper nutrition is vital until more targeted therapies are available.

It may help to think of chemotherapy and radiation treatment as a boxing match. It temporarily knocks you out along with the cancer. That's why it's important that you get off the canvas first so that you (and your immune system) can get back in the fight. Ultimately, it's your body's own immune system that will deliver the knockout blow to the cancer.

By: David Haas

Best Facebook Game EVER!

So...

I wrote a blog post about how insulting those FB games are when they use the guise of raising awareness for breast cancer. Seriously. How does making people think you are pregnant promote awareness for breast cancer? You can read the post here.

While I vented and spouted off about it in my blog, my friend Sally actually did something about it. She's that amazing.

You can join the cause here.

• Hello. My name is Sally and I am 42 years old and have Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer. As we approach October (or Pink-tober) and all of the Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns, facebook games, etc, I believe we can do something less about the pink and more about the green. I hope you will join me in spreading a real message about breast cancer to all of your friends. My goal is to raise $41,000 dollars, 1 dollar for every life lost to breast cancer this year in 31 days. How you ask? Just like the viral "awareness" games spread and forwarded around the world via social networking, I believe we can do the same thing and have a real impact in the fight against breast cancer. Did you know that 100% of breast cancer deaths are due to metastasis? Did you know that approximately 41,000 women and men die each and every year in America alone from metastatic breast cancer? Did you know that less than 2% of all money raised for breast cancer research is used to research metastatic breast cancer? Knowing these facts is awareness. Doing something about it is action.

Please go the link above and pledge a few dollars - $1 is all that's being asked. But forward the information to everyone you know. And if you've ever posted your bra size, where you put your purse, your shoe size, or thought it would be fun to make your FB friends think you are pregnant, then pledge to not do so ever again - and instead, tell people about this campaign.

As Sally said, "Knowing the facts is awareness. Doing something about it is action."