Exercising to Beat Cancer - The Benefits of Exercise During Chemo
I became aware of the importance of exercise for cancer patients while taking part in the "Surviving Cancer in Rural and Regional Australia" Satellite Symposium linking 58 sites around Australia.
The event addressed the significant gap in readily accessible information for people dealing with cancer in rural and regional Australia.
I felt a little out of my depth I was among doctors, professors, and lecturers talking about dealing with cancer.
I was there to talk about my personal cancer journey and strategies for overcoming cancer.
While all the speakers made valuable contributions it was professor Rob Newton from the School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, WA who really caught my interest.
He talked about the value of anabolic resistance exercise for cancer patients undergoing chemo.
The conventional wisdom used to be just go home and rest after chemo treatment.
But now that appears to be the worst thing you can do.
Exercise has been shown to actually reduce fatigue during chemotherapy.
It wasn't until a got cancer that diet and exercise came into focus.
I have painful memories of recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer.
My first exercise was to blow into a tube and try to make a ping pong ball rise.
I guess to get the lungs working.
It was bloody hard, but over time did get easier.
Then came the physical exercise, at first getting out of bed and walking to the door and back - agony, followed by exhaustion.
I was encouraged then to start walking laps of the ward.
Sometimes I lied saying I'd done 3 laps when I'd only done 2.
I thought everyone was being very cruel insisting that I put myselfthrough the torture.
However, after leaving hospital and reading up on the matter it became apparent how vital exercise was in my recovery and not only recovery but to reduce my chance of getting the cancer back.
The old common wisdom of chemo patients doing nothing but resting after treatment has been thrown out.
Exercise, in particular weight bearing exercise, has so many benefits including less fatigue, improved mental state, better sleep and fewer side effects.
So after 50 years of knowing better I now hit the gym every week.
The event addressed the significant gap in readily accessible information for people dealing with cancer in rural and regional Australia.
I felt a little out of my depth I was among doctors, professors, and lecturers talking about dealing with cancer.
I was there to talk about my personal cancer journey and strategies for overcoming cancer.
While all the speakers made valuable contributions it was professor Rob Newton from the School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, WA who really caught my interest.
He talked about the value of anabolic resistance exercise for cancer patients undergoing chemo.
The conventional wisdom used to be just go home and rest after chemo treatment.
But now that appears to be the worst thing you can do.
Exercise has been shown to actually reduce fatigue during chemotherapy.
It wasn't until a got cancer that diet and exercise came into focus.
I have painful memories of recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer.
My first exercise was to blow into a tube and try to make a ping pong ball rise.
I guess to get the lungs working.
It was bloody hard, but over time did get easier.
Then came the physical exercise, at first getting out of bed and walking to the door and back - agony, followed by exhaustion.
I was encouraged then to start walking laps of the ward.
Sometimes I lied saying I'd done 3 laps when I'd only done 2.
I thought everyone was being very cruel insisting that I put myselfthrough the torture.
However, after leaving hospital and reading up on the matter it became apparent how vital exercise was in my recovery and not only recovery but to reduce my chance of getting the cancer back.
The old common wisdom of chemo patients doing nothing but resting after treatment has been thrown out.
Exercise, in particular weight bearing exercise, has so many benefits including less fatigue, improved mental state, better sleep and fewer side effects.
So after 50 years of knowing better I now hit the gym every week.
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