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