Should you exercise during cancer treatment?

Highlights For a complete Q&A with Anna Schwartz, an expert on exercising during cancer treatment, click here. As is the case with anyone starting a new exercise program, it’s a good idea for you to first talk to your cancer care team. See the American Cancer Society’s guidelines for physical activity.

For most people, exercising during cancer treatment is counterintuitive. After all, your body is already struggling to fight off the cancer and endure the treatment. Why would you want to make things even tougher? Well, in one of those great ironies of life, doing the right types of exercise while in treatment for cancer actually has health benefits – both physical and emotional.

According to Anna Schwartz, FNP, PhD, FAAN, “people who start slowly and don’t overextend … feel better right away. You usually feel benefits in the first or second session,” she says. Schwartz, a cancer survivor herself, is professor and chair at Scottsdale Health Care Research at Arizona State University and has spent many years studying how exercise affects cancer patients.

There are many benefits of physical activity.

• Actually reduces fatigue; not only during treatment, but also after.
• Helps maintain or even increase fitness.
• Helps get the blood circulating – reinvigorating the body.
• Helps improve bone and muscle strength.
• Helps improve quality of life.
• Helps people maintain their mobility and independence.
• Can stimulate the appetite – a good thing for those who are having a hard time getting the nutrition they need.
• Helps with weight maintenance.
• Makes you feel good about yourself and improves your overall view of your situation.

The key is doing the right types of activities.

But how do you know what types of exercise are the right types? On your own, you may not know. Certainly, if you have always been active, you can continue being so, but you may want or need to reduce the intensity of the exercise and/or the amount of time you do it.

However, if you are someone who has not been active, you might want to ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist. Or you may want to join an exercise rehabilitation program at a nearby cancer center or hospital. In either case, you’ll find that these practitioners are skilled at recognizing problem areas and at teaching you to work with your limitations – through aerobic and other exercises that help to strengthen weakened areas.

If you elect to use a personal trainer at a nearby gym or health club, be sure that the trainer works with your medical team so that he or she knows how to protect you. Your type of cancer, the treatment you are getting, and the side effects you have are things that must be taken into account when creating an exercise program. While exercise can certainly help you during cancer treatment, doing the wrong types of activities can be dangerous to your health.

Earlier this year, a new cancer specialty certification was launched to train health and fitness professionals to work with people who have or have had cancer. The focus of the specialty is on safety while exercising. The new cancer specialty certification is available through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in collaboration with the American Cancer Society.

The American Cancer Society is here to guide you through every step of the cancer experience so you can focus on getting well. For more information, please contact us at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.