*The American Cancer Society recommends an exercise specialist be consulted before starting any exercise regimen.
Risk Reduction by Exercise
- Physical activity is one modifiable risk factor through which women can reduce their risk for breast cancer.7
Fatigue and Pain Related Exercise Benefits
- Between 72 and 95% of all cancer patients experience fatigue as a result of cancer treatments. 29
- Exercise improves cancer treatment-related fatigue. Fatigue is a major side effect and obstacle for cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and stem cell transplants. 29
- Regular exercise guidelines defined by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) are described as resistance training at least two times a week, and aerobic training most if not all days of the week.
Physiological Evidence of Exercise Benefits
General
- Increased physical activity significantly reduces serum estrone, estradiol, and free estradiol in postmenopausal women and thus may reduce the risk of breast cancer. 29
- The risk of developing prostate cancer may be reduced with physical activity, especially moderate physical activity.
Physical activity does not have to be exhausting to be beneficial to health.
Aerobic
- After a 24 week exercise regimen, cancer patients showed a significant improvement in resting heart rates (RHR), fatigue resistance via treadmill test, and predicted max aerobic capacity VO2 test. 29
Anaerobic
- Twenty-four weeks after an exercise program, resistance strength training measurements of cancer patients increased 15.44% in FVC, strength based functional activities increased over 50% compared with the control group.34
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