Chapter 1- The Importance of Physical Activity After a Cancer Diagnosis
In this article, we’ll explore how physical activity, in all its forms, can bring about a wide range of positive outcomes for cancer survivors.
Chapter 1- The Significance of Physical Activity After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Regular movement can significantly enhance your overall well-being. But why is it so important after a cancer diagnosis?
Cancer treatment can not only affect your physical fitness but also your emotional well-being. This can create a cycle of reduced activity and increased fatigue, making it hard to regain your strength.
Regular physical activity can help break this cycle, boosting your energy levels and improving your mood, making it easier to stay active and feel better.
The Role of Insulin and Inflammation
Exercise helps make your body more sensitive to insulin, which is a good thing. The larger our waistline is, the more resistant to insulin we tend to become. Insulin resistance can lead to weight gain, obesity and increased risk of chronic diseases, including cancers.
Regardless of whether weight loss is a goal or not, physical activity helps your body use insulin more effectively, creating healthier blood sugar levels to support our overall health.
Exercise also supports the immune system and has anti-inflammatory effects. It increases the number of our helper T-cells, which help fight off harmful cells, including cancer cells. Exercise also helps to balance the production of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, which are proteins that regulate inflammation in the body.
Through these processes, exercise plays a key role in managing cancer-related fatigue and may help to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
Based on global evidence, the World Cancer Research Fund recommends that cancer survivors should be encouraged to be physically active, with strong evidence showing that physical activity improves quality of life.
How Much Exercise Is Recommended?
The World Health Organisation recommends at least:
150 minutes of moderate physical activity or
75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week
Moderate activity can be walking, gardening, and household chores.
If you’re not doing any structured physical activity yet, some of these lighter activities could be a good place to start.
Movement as Recovery
We know how good physical activity can make us feel.
We tend to feel better afterwards, even though sometimes it's hard to get moving.
Our muscles, joints and bones are designed to move regularly, and the evidenced benefits are profound and potentially life-changing.
We will provide suggestions on how you can start to move your body more, from wherever you’re currently at, in the supporting resources within this course.
Let’s start viewing movement as a part of recovery and vital in supporting our overall health.