Benefits of Regular Exercise for Women with Breast Cancer
Benefits of Regular Exercise for Women with Breast Cancer
A body of research supports the benefits of exercise during treatment (e.g., radiation) for breast cancer, following treatment (e.g., reduces risk of recurrence, improves quality of life) and in reducing breast cancer risk more generally. However, as the IPFH / NPD 2012 Foot Health Assessment survey revealed, foot pain is highly prevalent and is a deterrent to regular exercise for everyone.
Practicing good foot hygiene and wearing properly sized padded socks, shoes and any insert or orthotic can help decrease foot pain and other foot conditions. Taking these preventive foot health steps will make it easier for women with breast cancer, those in remission and those at risk to become more active and reap the benefits of regular physical activity.
Following are links to press releases of some peer-reviewed, published studies supporting a role for regular exercise in breast cancer. All relevant studies can be found by searching on “breast cancer exercise” at the US National Library of Medicine’s PubMed website.
Highlights of Press-Released Peer-Reviewed Studies:
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“Telephone-based counseling, when combined with physician advice, can help breast cancer survivors become more physically active, which can improve quality of life and lessen the side effects of cancer treatment”….
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/l-tcp061113.php -
“Aerobic exercise can help relieve the fatigue often associated with cancer and cancer treatment”….
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/w-cer110912.php -
"Fitness level may be an important biomarker of survival among cancer patients…But the beautiful thing about fitness is that we can improve it with exercise training….”
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/dumc-cfl052312.php -
“The benefits of exercise outweigh the risks for breast cancer survivors and patients with lymphedema”….
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/uom-mrr120111.php -
“Vigorous exercise of more than two hours per week reduces the risk of developing breast cancer in postmenopausal African-American women by 64 percent”…
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/aafc-ver092810.php -
“Post-menopausal women who engage in moderate to vigorous exercise have a reduced risk of breast cancer”….
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-09/bc-rve092909.php -
“Girls and young women who exercise regularly between the ages of 12 and 35 have a substantially lower risk of breast cancer before menopause compared to those who are less active"...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/wuso-gyw050908.php -
“Two studies report that exercise and yoga can help maintain and in some cases improve quality of life in women with early-stage breast cancer. The first study found that resistance and aerobic exercise improved physical fitness, self-esteem and body composition, and that resistance exercise improved chemotherapy completion rates. The second study demonstrated that yoga was particularly beneficial for women who were not receiving chemotherapy during the study period”….
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-09/asoc-eay090407.php -
“Simple steps—like giving breast cancer survivors an an exercise workbook or step pedometer—along with a prescription to exercise, can improve their quality of life and fatigue levels”….
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/uoa-ssm061307.php#sthash.Kz8eHGbe.dpuf