Exercise some breast cancer awareness!
Did you know the benefits of exercise apply to women battling breast cancer? The positive impact that getting active has on human health doesn’t stop during breast cancer treatment. Though you may not feel up to exercising, research continues to show it’s extensive benefits and how they increase as we age.
Breast cancer survivors who engage in regular physical activity are less likely to experience a recurrence of breast cancer. That’s a fact! Exercise has also been proven to reduce breast cancer mortality rates.
Though breast cancer treatment is known to be quite taxing on patients, exercise may help alleviate common side effects. Regular physical activity is linked to enhanced quality of life and reduced feelings of anxiety. However, in breast cancer patients specifically, exercise has also been proven to decrease fatigue while promoting your tolerance for treatment.
Regular exercise decreases the risk that a woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Women who are not physically active, or those who are obese or overweight are known to be at higher risk than active women with a healthy weight.
It’s not uncommon for people with cancer to suffer with depression. 1 in 4 cancer patients will have depression while treating their cancer. The good news, is that depression is manageable and one way is through aerobic, or cardio, exercise.
Whether it’s walking, running, swimming, or pickleball, exercise that gets your heart rate up was shown to help reduce depressive symptoms in cancer patients in as little as a month. But there were long-term benefits as well for those who continued to exercise, with patients continually seeing decreases in their depression 6-12 months later.
It’s important to remember that any amount of exercise is beneficial to our health. Exercise has shown it can be helpful when dealing with cancer, but it also lowers your chance of developing other serious chronic conditions like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and can reduce your risk of several types of cancer, including breast.
If you’re a breast cancer survivor or currently undergoing cancer treatment, make sure to discuss starting a new workout routine with your doctor. Your care team can help you determine the best exercises to support your overall wellness.
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