Benefits of exercise for those with cancer

Today's guest blog post is from David Haas. I was approached by David to do a post on the exercise and its benefit to those with cancer and told him I would be happy to spread his message. Everyone is affected by cancer in some shape or form by cancer so I thought this is a no brainer to post. Below is a link to read more on David and Mesothelioma.
http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/david/bio.htm


There are a plethora of reasons why people choose to exercise. For example, some people are very concerned with their overall health and want to keep their body in its prime condition, others want to lose weight to feel better and others work out simply because their sense of vanity is too scared of gaining weight and looking less than perfect. Whatever the may reason may be, it doesn’t matter. Working out is a physical activity everyone should participate in; even people suffering from cancer, whether they were recently diagnosed, going through treatment or living in remission.

Most everyone knows the benefits of exercise, but most people are unaware that it only takes approximately 150 minutes a week to completely transform their bodies, minds and lives. A mere 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week is so beneficial to a person’s body, mind and health that doctors are now informing their cancer patients to get moving rather than to relax and rest. While the overall effects of exercise on any person are fairly well known, there are other benefits as well. Aside from improving the physical appearance and personal health, exercising with cancer, even the most rare forms of cancer such as mesothelioma improves a person’s entire life quality, which is very important to overcoming cancer.

There are numerous ways that exercise can be beneficial for improving a person’s quality of life. Exercise produces chemicals in a person’s body that help to build the immune system, which fights off negative chemicals that are produced by the feelings of stress, anxiousness and depression that are often caused by a cancer diagnosis. Fitness also can improve a person’s overall health, which is an automatic energy booster and great feeling. Additionally, fitness can help the way that people experience the side effects of cancer treatment. It is widely known that cancer treatments cause feelings of depression, fatigue, nausea and even induce vomiting; regular exercise can change this and make a person’s experience of these side effects much less severe or even completely diminish.

Another way that exercise benefits those with cancer is that it reduces their risks of experiencing cancer again after their remission. Some cancer risks can be reduced by as much as 40 percent. For those that are not excited about exercising or think they simply haven’t the time to do it, there is nothing to worry about. Exercise doesn’t mean going to the gym at 5 am. In fact, doctors recommend that patients do something physical that they enjoy, such as biking, hiking or even swimming. Dancing, playing and running around with kids is another great way to get in 20 minutes per day of exercise in a way that is fun and easy.