Exercise Can Half Your Risk of Dying From Cancer by Luci Minogue

As an adult, you will most likely know someone touched by cancer. If you had cancer and found something that could half the risk of dying, would you do it?

At a cancer care centre in Perth, the doctors here asked – Why wait until cancer patients are so deconditioned from their treatment to start exercise?

Here a group of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation are performing a tailored one hour exercise program three times a week on the same day as their treatment and are finding that their own body is attacking the tumour.

The benefits from exercise that the scientists have found include

• The muscles are producing chemicals to destroy the cancer cells.
• Less fatigue.
• Less nausea.
• No loss of muscle mass or an increase in muscle mass (it is normal for a 10-15% loss in muscle mass during cancer treatment)
• No medication can currently stop the loss of muscle mass, exercise is the only thing.

How is this happening?

• Exercise increases blood flow, which means more chemicals from the chemotherapy are getting to the tumour to fight it. It is therefore beneficial to exercise before or after treatment to help target the cancer cells.
• Adrenalin activates natural killer cells released into the blood. The exercise then causes the muscles to tell the killer cells what to target.

To learn more about this story, watch the ABC Catalyst Video here:

InnerStrength of Bayside runs the Pinc and Steel Cancer Rehabilitation Programs, which provide individualised prescribed rehabilitation to women and men diagnosed with cancer. To learn more about these programs click here. To book in for an assessment call 8555 4099 or BOOK ONLINE now!