Stay Fit! Fight Breast Cancer

Released: Wednesday, September 9, 2009

There are many well-known reasons as to why people should maintain a certain level of fitness.  However, research has shown specific advantages of being fit as they are linked with breast cancer.  In some cases, staying fit could mean disease prevention all-together.  Still, for those who are being treated for or recovering from breast cancer, studies reveal that staying fit is a great ally during and after these times.

Two articles, one found in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and another published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, report that breast cancer can be prevented through fitness for women who are both premenopausal and menopausal.  The first article correlates with a study related to premenopausal breast cancer and concluded that women who were more active lowered their risk of developing breast cancer by 23%.  The second article, reporting on women in their menopausal years, found that women who led active lifestyles reduced their risk of breast cancer by 25%.  In other words, staying fit has been shown to reduce one’s risk for breast cancer across the board and the reason is that consistent physical activity reduces the level of certain hormones, including estrogen and insulin, which when left unbalanced can stimulate breast cancer development.

As far as treatment for and recovery from breast cancer, there are many benefits of staying fit during these stages as well. For example, chemotherapy is associated with weight gain and decrease in bone density.  Therefore, aerobic and anaerobic exercise may help prevent the weight gain typically associated with this form of treatment and maintain or even build bone density that otherwise would have been lost.  In one study, women who engaged in weekly aerobic exercise while using weights lost nearly 6% less bone density than individuals who were not getting aerobic exercise.  For those undergoing radiation therapy, exercise is a way to fight common side effects such as, fatigue, depression and anemia. Exercise not only increases one’s energy level, but releases mood enhancing hormones.  Moreover, a 2006 study in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society, concluded that even a single exercise session could help patients maintain their red blood cell levels.  Exercise also aids the recovery process for women who undergo a mastectomy. Working with weights can rebuild strength and stretching can improve flexibility and range of motion, which is particularly important in the shoulder area which tends to be affected the most.  On another note, exercise in general has the power to increase a patient's overall sense of well-being.

Sources:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=89479

http://breastcancer.about.com/lw/Health-Medicine/Conditions-and-diseases/Fitness-and-Breast-Cancer.htm