Friday, February 17, 2012

Reduce Cancer Risks by Getting Up and Going

All it takes to reduce a person’s risk of certain types of cancer by up to 40 percent is 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise. If that sounds like a lot, break it down by day and it is only a little more than 21 minutes per day of exercise. That’s 21 minutes per day to reduce a person’s risk of cancers such as breast cancer by 40 percent. For those that already have cancer, even more rare forms of cancer such as mesothelioma, 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week can reduce the risk of the cancer reoccurring after remission by just as much. Additionally, it can also help to relieve the symptoms that are considered side effects of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.
Moderate exercise is easy to achieve for anyone. The reason for this is that moderate exercise happens to consist of things that most people find fun and enjoyable, such as walking, swimming and biking. And for just over 21 minutes a day, those with cancer can not only enjoy participating in their favorite pastimes, they are making themselves healthier, happier and relieving their cancer treatment symptoms at the same time. It is a win/win situation for everyone. When doctors first began treating people for cancer, their advice to patients was to rest as much as possible, stay in bed and conserve their energy because their treatment would require as much energy as possible. In recent years, however, doctors have begun to change their minds and are now urging their cancer patients to get active and stay active throughout their treatment.
Physical fitness produces hormones and endorphins that boost the immune system and increase a person’s mood, which makes their overall quality of life that much better. As any cancer patient knows, quality of life is very important to recovery and to life after cancer has gone. When a person with cancer exercises for 150 minutes per week, their chances of experiencing a reoccurrence of cancer is reduced. In addition, their mood and health are better and they are able to respond in a more positive way to the treatment they are on. Additionally, negative side effects such as nausea and depression and fatigue can be eliminated or greatly reduced by exercising regularly.
The benefits of becoming physically active while living with and fighting cancer are immeasurable. A person with cancer can only benefit from regularly activity; not only will it reduce cancer treatment side effects and reduce the risk of cancer returning, it can also help to prevent against other diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and other diseases that can be potentially deadly and otherwise harmful to a person’s overall health.

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