<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> <%Option Explicit%> <%strPage = "Benefits" strCategory = "Article Library" strPageTitle = "THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE FOR CANCER RECOVERY" %>

THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE FOR CANCER RECOVERY Eric Durak, MSc Medical Health and Fitness Santa Barbara, CA Like most Americans, I had took great pride in the victory of Lance Armstrong in this year's Tour de France. His victory was especially taken to heart because I understood the seriousness of his cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent return to competitive athletics. His victory has also given more thought to the diagnosis of cancer in world class athletes. With the diagnosis and treatment of skaters Scott Hamilton (testicular cancer) and Peggy Fleming (breast cancer), 100 meter hurdler Ludmila Enquist (breast cancer), miler Steve Scott (testicular cancer), and baseball players like Darryl Strawberry (colon cancer), we are now seeing that indeed athletes can resume their training regimes after their diagnosis and treatment. In many cases the exercise reduces the nausea and crushing fatigue that happens during chemotherapy regimes. Is being an athlete a guarantee of a full cancer recovery? Of course not. One is reminded of the severity of cancer prognoses when reading about WNBA professional Kim Perrot of the champion Houston Comets, who passed away from on August 19, 1999 after a seven month battle with cancer at the age of 29. Another effect of these high-profile survivors - more press on the subject of exercise and Cancer. In December of 1999 I attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Conference and at the meeting I saw an article published in MAMM magazine on exercise and cancer, and two days later saw Lance Armstrong grace the cover of USA Weekend Magazine with his wife and new baby boy. Indeed, there is becoming more of an emphasis on including exercise as part of the cancer recovery process. But why. . .? The first reason is that exercise improves the quality of life. Of that there is little doubt. Over the past five years the Santa Barbara Athletic Club in California has instructed an exercise and wellness program whereby persons diagnosed with cancer can participate in small group exercise sessions with their peers and lift weights, strength products, perform yoga, stretching and yoga train on aerobic machines, aerobic products and relax with meditation sessions. The results have been as remarkable as a Tour de France win. Participants on average improved strength and endurance by over 25% over their initial ten weeks of exercise. They improved their fatigue levels by over 30%, and reduced pain by over 20%. More importantly, they improved their quality of life scores (well being, daily living scores) by almost 40%. This is important, because according to many oncologists, survivability and quality of life ARE the two most important areas of cancer treatment today. Dr. Kerry Courneya from the University of Alberta in Canada has reported some of the best research on the effects of exercise and quality of life. His recent review of over 20 studies concludes that three quarters of these reports had significant results in quality of life improvements for patients. That means that most published reports favor the use of exercise to improve quality of life. A very recent report presented by Dr. Barbara Anderson from the Ohio State University found that patients who attended regular support groups actually increased their survivability significantly. Unlike previous psychosocial interventions, the OSU group looked at stress hormones such as cortisol, and proteins such as Mucin (MUC1) and their relationship to breast cancer progression. It now seems that support and regular physical activity (which was also monitored) have a tremendous impact on survivorship by regulating hormones and proteins that may have deleterious effects on the immune system. A second report, presented at the San Antonio conference by the HealthEmotions Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin states that exercise improves many of the well-being scores of the 46 women surveyed. So why don't we hear more about exercise and cancer in the media? One reason is that a guy like Lance Armstrong doesn't come along every day. Whether he knows it or not, he is now considered an international spokesperson for using exercise as part of the cancer recovery process. The second reason is basic awareness. Most oncologists are familiar with clinical trials and medical treatments. They think of exercise as perhaps just routine physical therapy (which it is not). For years many patients never mentioned their disease to family and friends. However, awareness on the benefits of therapeutic exercise has already crossed the threshold in the area of cardiac rehabilitation when doctors such as Ken Cooper spoke out in favor of aerobic training for post-heart attack patients. Now it is standard therapy. Doctors Andrew Weil and Dean Ornish have given America awareness on the effects of alternative medical procedures for stress management and heart disease prevention and treatment. Today thousands of heart patients take heed of these new medical recommendations. Lance Armstrong has risen the awareness of people internationally that cancer patients whose prognosis (long term health survivability) is not good and use exercise as part of their recovery. Add this to nutrition, stress management, support groups, and better medicine and we may see a new generation of cancer survivors build their repertoire for recovery. Remember that the Surgeon General recommends exercise for all Americans anyway, so there should be acceptance with physicians who wish to refer to cancer wellness programs, just as there is with the Santa Barbara wellness program, where oncologists from the entire community now refer their patients. As more research and published literature on protocols and benefits appears, the awareness will grow throughout the medical and fitness communities, so more patients than ever before can benefit from regular exercise to build strength, endurance, and self efficacy to increase their odds for survival. It is also my opinion that exercise programming will see a huge growth in acceptance in the coming years. This is in part because cancer survivors want to get better. Having a community program where they can exercise helps them out even more. Will it be a revolution? Perhaps - but it is for now a victory, just like in the Tour de France. References Andersen, B, Emery, C. Effects of physical activity and group support on fatigue, nausea, and cortisol and MUC1 protein antibody production. Presented at the 1999 American Psychological Association meeting, Boston, MA Courneya, KS, Friedenreich, CM. Physical exercise and quality of life following cancer diagnosis: A literature review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 21:2:1-10, 1999. Dimeo, RC., Tilmann, MHM., Bertz, H, Kanz, L, Mertelsmann, R, Keul, JR. Aerobic exercise in the rehabilitation of cancer patients after high dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation. Cancer. 79:1717-22, 1997. Dimeo, RC., Rumberger, BG., Kuel, JR. Aerobic exercise as therapy for cancer fatigue. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 30;4:475-78, 1998. Durak, EP, Lilly, PC, Hackworth, JL. Physical and Psychosocial Responses to Exercise in Cancer Patients: A Two Year Follow-Up Survey with Prostate, Leukemia, and General Carcinoma. Journal of Exercise Physiology. 2;1:1-10, 1999. Friendenreich, CM. Exercise as rehabilitation for cancer patients. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. 6;4:237-44, 1996. Hoffman-Goetz, L. Exercise, natural immunity, and tumor metastasis. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 26;2:157-63, 1994. Miller, LT. Exercise in the management of breast cancer-related lymphedema. Innovations in Breast Cancer Care. 3;4:101-06, 1998. Winningham, ML, MacVicar, MG, Burke, CA. Exercise for cancer patients: Guidelines and precautions. The Physician and Sportsmedicine. 14;10:15257, 1986. Winningham, ML, MacVicar, MG. The effect of aerobic exercise on patient reports of nausea. Oncology Nursing Forum. 15;4:447-50, 1988. Resources in Cancer Wellness Durak, EP. Cancer Exercise, Wellness, and Rehab. Medical Health and Fitness Publications, Santa Barbara, CA 1997. Rosenbaum, E. Cancer: Supportive Care. Sommerville House Publishing, Kansas City, MO, 1998 Bio My name is Eric Durak, and for the past 15 years I have been training, writing, and lecturing on exercise programs for persons with special needs. I am now producing articles with bodytrends.com to help people understand how to use exercise to improve their lifestyles. The bodytrends.com newsletter enables us to inform you about information on the benefits of exercise training for persons with specific medical conditions. We have known for many years that exercise is beneficial for conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, but we are finding out that regular exercise may improve the prognosis for almost every diagnosed disease! A pretty powerful tool. With that in mind, it's our intent to make sure that you understand something about exercise as it relates to your condition - that you can talk about your exercise plans with your doctor, and that you select and USE the most appropriate exercise products to fit your needs. If you have any questions, please let us know. And by all means, . . . read on.