How exercise can help in breast cancer treatment

Regular exercise is an important part of being as healthy as you can be. In fact, being physically active can reduce your risk of developing breast cancer. If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, exercise can reduce the risk of a recurrence of the disease, and also help ease the treatment’s troubling side effects, such as fatigue, pain, depression, and lymphedema.

Experts say that exercise is safe during and after all breast cancer treatments, as long as you take any needed precautions and keep the intensity low.

Breast medical oncologist Dr Jennifer Griggs says exercise improves mood, energy level, and overall health during breast cancer treatment. “Many people believe that during treatment for breast cancer you should take it easy. That is obviously true, because you do not want to exert your energy in doing things that are not important. However, being inactive is not going to help you. You will lose muscle mass, strength and flexibility. Stay as active as you can, within the limits of your energy level,” Griggs said.

She says exercise can help you reduce fatigue, especially during treatment with chemotherapy and after surgery, when a patient’s energy is depleted. In addition, exercising in natural light, she said, is recommended. ‘You will find that some days you are more tired than others, so you have to be kind to yourself and to your body,” she said.

The key, she said, is that you do not have to exercise all at once. You can break it up into 10-minute segments and fit it into you daily life. “If you have been inactive before breast cancer, now is a great time to start. You should stay as active as you can during treatment. Beneficial exercises you can do include aerobic and flexibility exercises, strength training, and balance exercise,” Griggs said.

Exercise can help you maintain or build muscle mass and be stronger. As most people age, they tend to lose muscle and gain fat. Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy medicines can suddenly throw you into early menopause. The decrease in oestrogen that comes with menopause is linked to decreased muscle mass. Strength training exercises can help make sure you increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat.

Exercise can help improve mobility. Scar tissue that forms after breast cancer surgery, reconstruction, or radiation can make your arm and shoulder muscles feel tight. If you do not use your arm and shoulder as much after treatment, the muscles in those areas also can lose flexibility. Over time, careful stretching exercises can improve the range of motion in the arm and shoulder.

For many people, the hardest part of exercising is sticking to a steady routine. Once the initial enthusiasm wears off, you may find yourself making excuses not to exercise. However, Griggs recommends that even after surgery, people should continue to exercise.

“How soon you start, what type and how much physical activity you do after surgery will depend on the type of surgery you have had, your recovery, and your fitness level before your surgery. Many people feel well enough to go for a short walk a few days after surgery, but others need longer to rest. Build your physical activity levels up gradually, and remember, it may take time to return to the level of activity you were doing before your surgery,” Griggs cautioned.

Chemotherapy affects people in different ways. Some people have very few side effects and are able to continue with their usual activities. Others feel extremely tired or unwell and unable to carry on as usual. This can be frustrating if you want to be physically active.

There will be times when you do feel able to do some type of activity. Gentle exercise, such as walking, can boost your energy, help make you feel less tired, and improve your mood. It may be possible to continue with other types of physical activity, such as yoga.

Talk to your doctor about any activities you would like to do while you are having treatment. They can tell you which of them are suitable.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com