Physical Fitness Contributes to Cancer Symptom Management
A diagnosis of cancer is almost always followed by multiple diagnoses of symptoms and prescriptions to manage them. Some of these symptoms may result from the cancer itself or even the stress of diagnosis, but most are the product of treatment protocols involving surgery, radiation, hormone therapy and chemotherapy. The end result is an expensive list of maintenance medications, aimed at keeping the quality of life as high as possible, and yet more medicines to control the side effects of primary symptom management.
Mixing so many pharmaceuticals together at a time when the body is suffering from aggressive treatment of cancer is not desirable, but doctors come to it by means of risk calculation. One of the more common symptoms is emotional disorder, which can include anxiety and depression. Emotional disorders can be life threatening, and at best they can cause severe disruption to the patient's social and home life. Other symptoms, such as fatigue, digestive problems and insomnia, may not be life threatening in the short term, but they are distressing and can increase the risk of chronic diseases over the long term.
Uses of Exercise in Treatment Protocols
Researchers have discovered that a low- to no-cost intervention can actually be better at mitigating the symptoms of cancer and treatment than pharmaceuticals. This complimentary intervention also causes no side effects when used responsibly. Physical fitness has a long history of being the premier preventive medicine, but it was believed in decades past that exercise was too risky for cancer patients. Safety of exercise for every cancer patient has been established, and the leading cancer experts now recommend that all patients include a fitness routine in their fights against cancer.
Research on the efficacy of exercise has targeted all common forms of cancer and several of the less common ones. Guidelines have been created to suggest appropriate routines and specific programs for patients receiving different types of therapy.
* Surgery can be especially difficult on a cancer patient for several reasons. It is generally accompanied by radiation or chemotherapy to shrink tumors prior to removal and kill any remaining cancer cells afterwards. A healthy person may recover quickly from new types of surgery, but patients often have much slower recovery. Loss of basic functions is also common, and there is no guarantee of full recovery.
Exercise routines have been developed specifically for each of the common surgeries, and fitness experts can develop routines for uncommon circumstances. Exercise has been shown in many cases to speed recovery and hasten the return of basic functions, including bladder control and libido.
* Radiation is primarily used in conjunction with chemotherapy. New technology allows for smaller and more targeted doses to be delivered, but these treatments still take a toll by combining the worst of treatment symptoms. Exercise can mitigate the symptoms, which is good news for patients receiving treatments for mesothelioma and other palliative care situations.
* Hormonal therapy for breast and prostate cancer can result in rapid weight changes, mood disorders, and bone loss. Weight-bearing exercises can counter bone loss by prompting the body to redirect nutrition. It also builds lean muscle that serves as a metabolic buffer against rapid weight gain or loss. Depression is often a side effect of both the primary symptoms caused by hormone treatment and the fact of having cancer to begin with. It is also linked to other forms of treatment. Aerobic exercise is known to be an effective antidepressant.
The overall effects of exercise impact every system of the body in a positive way. Patients looking for an accepted alternative route of symptom management now have expert-approved options.
A diagnosis of cancer is almost always followed by multiple diagnoses of symptoms and prescriptions to manage them. Some of these symptoms may result from the cancer itself or even the stress of diagnosis, but most are the product of treatment protocols involving surgery, radiation, hormone therapy and chemotherapy. The end result is an expensive list of maintenance medications, aimed at keeping the quality of life as high as possible, and yet more medicines to control the side effects of primary symptom management.
Mixing so many pharmaceuticals together at a time when the body is suffering from aggressive treatment of cancer is not desirable, but doctors come to it by means of risk calculation. One of the more common symptoms is emotional disorder, which can include anxiety and depression. Emotional disorders can be life threatening, and at best they can cause severe disruption to the patient's social and home life. Other symptoms, such as fatigue, digestive problems and insomnia, may not be life threatening in the short term, but they are distressing and can increase the risk of chronic diseases over the long term.
Uses of Exercise in Treatment Protocols
Researchers have discovered that a low- to no-cost intervention can actually be better at mitigating the symptoms of cancer and treatment than pharmaceuticals. This complimentary intervention also causes no side effects when used responsibly. Physical fitness has a long history of being the premier preventive medicine, but it was believed in decades past that exercise was too risky for cancer patients. Safety of exercise for every cancer patient has been established, and the leading cancer experts now recommend that all patients include a fitness routine in their fights against cancer.
Research on the efficacy of exercise has targeted all common forms of cancer and several of the less common ones. Guidelines have been created to suggest appropriate routines and specific programs for patients receiving different types of therapy.
* Surgery can be especially difficult on a cancer patient for several reasons. It is generally accompanied by radiation or chemotherapy to shrink tumors prior to removal and kill any remaining cancer cells afterwards. A healthy person may recover quickly from new types of surgery, but patients often have much slower recovery. Loss of basic functions is also common, and there is no guarantee of full recovery.
Exercise routines have been developed specifically for each of the common surgeries, and fitness experts can develop routines for uncommon circumstances. Exercise has been shown in many cases to speed recovery and hasten the return of basic functions, including bladder control and libido.
* Radiation is primarily used in conjunction with chemotherapy. New technology allows for smaller and more targeted doses to be delivered, but these treatments still take a toll by combining the worst of treatment symptoms. Exercise can mitigate the symptoms, which is good news for patients receiving treatments for mesothelioma and other palliative care situations.
* Hormonal therapy for breast and prostate cancer can result in rapid weight changes, mood disorders, and bone loss. Weight-bearing exercises can counter bone loss by prompting the body to redirect nutrition. It also builds lean muscle that serves as a metabolic buffer against rapid weight gain or loss. Depression is often a side effect of both the primary symptoms caused by hormone treatment and the fact of having cancer to begin with. It is also linked to other forms of treatment. Aerobic exercise is known to be an effective antidepressant.
The overall effects of exercise impact every system of the body in a positive way. Patients looking for an accepted alternative route of symptom management now have expert-approved options.
