The top risk factors for cancer are obesity, smoking, drinking too much alcohol, eating a highly processed diet low in nutrients and fiber, and a sedentary lifestyle. Regular exercise helps with two of these—the #1 risk factor—obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Doctors are now calling this sedentary lifestyle “The New Smoking.” So basically, regular exercise reduces your risk for cancer by taking away these two risk factors. We must realize that daily movement is a key to a healthy life and that also includes lowering our risk for cancer.
But you might ask, “How can exercise benefit the cancer patient in the cancer journey?” Here are ten ways exercise benefits the cancer patient:
- Boosts the immune system. We know that chemotherapy has a dramatic negative impact on our immune system causing red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells to plummet. It’s the dropping of the white blood cells that causes a cancer patient to become neutropenic. Exercise has been proven to boost the immune system. Some days you may not feel strong enough to exercise, but you do what you can when you can. Neulasta is a big boost, but exercise also gives you a boost.
- Stimulates the lymphatic system to take out the trash in your body. Your lymphatic system is your trash disposal system. It’s the only system in your body that requires movement to work. There are a lot of toxic chemicals in your body from chemotherapy, cancer drugs, and radiation. Because of this, we need to pump that lymphatic system with exercise to help move these toxins out.
- Increases oxygen and nutrient delivery to your cells. There’s no better time in life when oxygen and nutrient delivery are needed more than after cancer treatments. Especially after chemotherapy, which kills both good cells and cancer cells, we desperately need oxygen and nutrients in our cells.
- Relieves stress by lowering cortisol levels. The cancer journey is a roller coaster ride of stress and emotions. The first thing I did after I was diagnosed and after my husband prayed over me for wisdom and guidance was to take a walk. Stress causes cortisol levels to rise, which causes blood sugar to also go up. After exercise, those cortisol levels go down along with blood sugar levels. I used exercise to manage the stress of the cancer journey, but little did I know that exercise would do far more than that for me. It’s important to keep your blood sugar levels balanced at all times, especially during the cancer journey.
- Causes us to sweat. Chemotherapy, radiation, and cancer drugs put a huge toxic load on your body. One of the best ways to remove that toxic load is to increase hydration, eat clean foods filled with fiber, and sweat these toxins out through your skin. Your skin is your largest detox organ. Exercise also stimulates your other filtering systems such as your liver, kidneys, colon, and lungs to work more efficiently.
- Reduces estrogen and toxins in fat cells. The one thing my doctors told to not to do after my diagnosis was to gain weight. Why? Because toxins and estrogen store in fat cells, and I was diagnosed with an estrogen-driven cancer. Of course, they also don’t want you losing too much weight either. Emaciation must be avoided. Quite honestly, just the diagnosis itself affected my hunger, and I lost 15 pounds. That 15 pounds was weight I did not need. As a result, my blood sugar and blood pressure both lowered. And that was a good thing.
- Strengthens bones. Cancer patients with an estrogen-driven cancer are given aromatase inhibitors or estrogen-blocking drugs to increase their prognosis and lower their risk of recurrence. Unfortunately, both chemotherapy and these estrogen-lowering drugs tend to decrease bone density. Fortunately, by using exercise in various ways, I was able to hold my bone density after chemotherapy and after five years of taking these estrogen-blocking drugs.
- Reduces risk of blood clots. I walked two miles after my first surgery and one mile after the second surgery. I later realized the benefits when my surgeon said, “It was the best thing I could have done to oxygenate my body, jumpstart my organs, reduce blood clots, and promote healing in my body after surgery.” Some chemotherapies list blood clots as a side effect. So I advise all my cancer patients to keep moving to prevent these possible blood clots.
- Helps with depression, insomnia, and anxiety. All three of these are common in the cancer journey. Research shows that exercise helps with all three. Exercise is a common remedy for depression. It helps with insomnia, and it lowers anxiety. I walked before and after my first surgery. However, I walked a mile after my second surgery, but did not walk before. I realized my mistake when I suffered a small panic attack for the first time in my life before that second surgery. Walking before surgery might have prevented that.
- Reduces inflammation. Inflammation is the root cause of most diseases including cancer. Due to all the chemicals, drugs, and surgeries that only increase inflammation, exercise can help the cancer patient to reduce this excess inflammation.
As I mentioned earlier, I exercised to reduce stress. For example, after my first surgery with one hundred stitches, I had more tubes and medical devices attached to my body than I knew what to do with. I asked the nurse, “What could I do to get my catheter out?” Four rounds of the hospital floor were recommended. I went beyond the four rounds of the hospital floor that was recommended. It felt good to move. After one mile, the nurse called my surgeon to see if I should proceed. She approved, and that day I walked two miles. The benefits were amazing. I was released early with no tubes following me home. Later research by the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia would show that exercise is one of the best things a cancer patient can do. And later research by MD Anderson clearly showed the benefits of regular exercise for the cancer patient.
Exercise is a great way to prevent cancer. Movement is key to life and your body removing trash from your system daily. My daily movement helped my chemotherapy target my cancer and helped my body take out the trash afterwards. It’s well known that exercise can help prevent cancer, but research is clearly showing that exercise is the best thing a cancer patient can do.
What does all this mean? No more coming home from chemo and crashing on the sofa all week. But you do what you can when you can, knowing it’s best to keep on moving.
What types of exercise have benefited you in the cancer journey?
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Ten Ways Exercise Benefits the Cancer Patient
Related Videos/Blog Posts:
The Benefits of Healthy Eating and Exercise for Cancer Patients
Exercises that Build Bone Density
For Your Health,
Ginny
Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC. She has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served on the front lines of American culture as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Brant’s award-winning book, Finding True Freedom: From the White House to the World, was endorsed by Chuck Colson and featured in many TV and media interviews. Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer was released in May 2020 after her journey with cancer and was recently awarded the First Place Golden Scrolls Award for Memoirs, a finalist in Serious Writers Book of the Decade, and Second Place in both Selah Awards for Memoirs and Director’s Choice Award for Nonfiction at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. It recently received the Christian Authors Network’s (CAN) Gold Award for Excellence in Marketing for reaching 62.5 million people with a message of cancer prevention and survival. It was written with commentary from an oncologist and was featured on CBN’s Healthy Living Show, Atlanta Live, and CTN’s Homekeepers along with over 75 media outlets. Learn more and cancer and wellness prevention blog and book information at www.ginnybrant.com. Ginny is on YouTube
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***** This content is strictly the opinion of Ginny Brant and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Neither Ginny Brant nor the publisher of this content takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program. *****
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