Exercise can apparently lessen the rate of cancer cell growth and even help prevent its recurrence.
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I don't know what stats they have on the research at ECU featured on this website in an article some time back..maybe they are good stats and maybe the stories you hear of people fit as a fiddle having a recurrence are word of mouth and not measured research wise? That could be one slant. The other is that cancer doesn't discriminate between fitness fanatics and junk food eaters ... I am starting to think this is maybe true - but basing my thoughts on stories I hear from people. Again, I guess you can only do your best and cross fingers. I am not an exercise person...like to swim in the pool but not an athlete, just enjoy a few laps. I do find if I force myself to get up and do a small walk or a visit to the beach I do feel better. But this is also prescribed for depression, of which I suffer. Meanwhile a friend post bowel cancer is doing 10km walks a day and then goes to the gym! He is old school and has always been fit ... motto is go hard or go home. I know I need more rest at this point and if anything a little wander here and there and maybe go back to regenerative yoga. The old school approach just doesn't suit me.2
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@viking1 I think what you are doing is absolutely perfect! and I would say in all honesty has been me post treatment too. Do the things that make you feel good, but don't push yourself to the point that you struggle for days after. This is what my Exercise Physiologist says, its about slow and steady especially post diagnosis and treatment. She refused to work with me until I was post treatment because she said I was so ill and my body was in recovery mode. I'm really doing well now but Im 2 years on, and you are so right it doesnt discriminate, fit or not, healthy eater or not so I was fit and a healthy eater and still had a recurrence and they can't explain why. Everything in moderation and I just do what makes me happy
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So glad you are doing well now. You have had a hard trot. Yes, what you say sounds more than reasonable. I'm glad my friend can do his 10kms but after pneumonia a fortnight ago, I am still wheezing in morning and at dusk...so am being kind to me!
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I have just come back from a walk along the beach, so I like waking and exercise. I have a theory I’d love researchers to look at. I have heart issues after having Adriamycin (in ACT chemo) and left sided radiotherapy (which has now been improved). I’m wondering if working through chemo and exercise has contributed to the effects of Adriamycin on my heart function. I wonder if this is happening and it’s being under reported. Exercise is great. I’d just like to know more about chemo, exercise and heart function, especially in younger women.4
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I would certainly like to see research like that LucyE. Like you my heart has been damaged by ACT chemo and now I'm told the cardiomyopathy is not likely to improve any further and they are just trying to slow its progress. Before treatment I was a fit, healthy busy mum of 4. I worked 4 days a week and had plenty of energy in a very sporty household. Now I've been pushed into early menopause, I feel about 80, struggle to work 3 days a week, don't have much energy and require 12 tablets of one thing or another daily to keep cancer and my heart issues at bay. I think this problem may be under reported as many of the people being treated are in an age bracket where heart problems would be put down to age rather than treatment. I didn't exercise during treatment but I really wish now I had. I know that there is a developing field called oncocardiology so maybe the research is already underway. Here's hoping anyway.
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I’m reading here how many people have had damage to their heart through chemo &/or radiation and yet having been diagnosed only earlier this year I was not told of any possible damage to the heart . I had left breast & node invasion so had the Deep Inspiration Breath Hold teqhnique radiation but months after radiation finished and I’ve started in hormone therapy I’m feeling more tired, depressed and anxiety than normal even thought I’m exercising twice or three times a week. The surgeon and oncologist both said breast cancer figures showed the figures were higher in overweight women and that exercise showed to help in recovery oncologist suggested Pilates to strengthen bones - presumably from the damage of radiation and/or hormone therapy.
Ill exercise as as I am now doing Pilates and light cardio twice a week and a walk in the beach 1-2 times snd if up for it I’ll do a bit of stretch and light exercise at home hoping it will pay off in the end.
Generally, with or without breast cancer it’s always been known it’s best to eat healthily, lead as peaceful life as possible and exercise would make us the healthiest version of ourselves as possible so apart from allowing our bodies to heal and recover from the trauma of bc it has to be helpful to keep doing what we know works for good health, in normal health, only adjust it according to the stage of our ‘hopefully temporary’ disease invasion.
Individual diagnosis, stage, grade & type of cancer + individual age, mental and physical health, lifestyle, stress & anxiety, + support, medical team + treatment availability + response to treatment, = individual response,
We are all different, and we are okay, doing what we can to live the best life possible. ❤️0 -
I didn't have radiation and was diagnosed with AF about two thirds of the way through chemo. Both my cardiologist and my oncologist were of the opinion that A/C may have been a contributing factor. I was certainly advised that herceptin could cause damage to the heart wall (in my case it did not). Four and a bit years on I think the AF was due to a combination of things including age, surgery and chemo. It's hard to advise people about everything that's possible - the written material I got about both chemotherapies was scary enough! - particularly when the chances of something happening may be low. If I had been told beforehand, I am not at all sure what I would have done as I would have imagined I might have to live very quietly. In fact my AF is utterly manageable, I am practically symptom free, take a couple of tablets and live normally. It's all so variable and individual.1
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I too had LHS radiotherapy . As I am er+ I am taking Letrozole . I was advised of potential damage to my heart of radiotherapy - my tumour was quite deep. I think the fatigue and feeling low / anxious - and they probably interact - is a side effect of Letrozole. I walk daily for an hour and find it helps with both - though not easy some days with joint pain but seem to be able to walk thru it. It also helps me to do a gentle stretch/ balance class twice per week both for my joints and my headspace - the latter is also helped by being out and about with others. I have also been doing the YWCA Encore hydrotherapy course available in most states - not Victoria I think ? - it’s good on two levels being with a diverse group of fellow bc ladies and also the exercise program which is gentle - geared mainly to lymphodema prevention - I do not have lymphodema . It’s once a week for 8 weeks for 2 hours in a very warm swimming pool available to anyone who has ever had breast cancer and you can do up to 4 courses . I think hard as it is at times being out and about amongst people helps plus exercise plus having this forum to unload and a small group of friends who you can talk to all helps.1
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I have metastatic breast cancer and am 4 and a half years diagnosis, my oncologist sat opposite me and said if I can give you one piece of advice it would be to exercise, some days that means I can walk up to the shed to give my partner a coffee other days it means I dont have the energy to clean my teeth,we all do the best we can with what we have on any particular day, all of the above advice is spot on, we are all just putting one foot in front of the other, on any given day.
To some of us just getting through the day is like running a marathon, I have learned not to feel guilty about what I can and cannot do, I was not able to run 5ks before my breast cancer diagnosis so I dont expect to be able to do it now, but I do know my oncologist was right, exercise in any form makes you feel good, its just doing what you are able to and not feeling guilty about what you are not,
wendy553 -
Before my radiotherapy there was a very strongly pressed point of WHY I had to hold my breath during the treatment: To keep the target still and accurate, but most importantly to make sure my heart would be out of the way of the treatment.
I didn't have any trouble with it but there was a lot of chatter about lung capacity and how as we age it diminishes. They would always say I was an easy patient and if there were delays it was usually because they'd had to stop someone's treatment because they couldn't hold it and needed a break so they'd had to reset. Nothing to be ashamed of, of course, in a lot of cases it's practically unavoidable.
I find it so just bonkers nuts that through your whole treatment nobody even mentioned it. Just reinforces my whole desire for there to be accessible info pamphlets for ever single thing literally handed to patients on the spot every step of the way.0 -
I just wanted to add, that back in 2011 when I had radiation at first diagnosis I had a history of heart palpitations, but it was rare. 6 months after treatment I started to get them relentlessly, til 1 day I was alone and passed out, ended up in hospital with possible heart muscle damage as it was equivalent to running a marathon they said. It had been going for 10hrs..big mistake.
So I ended up having a heart ablation done, and it cured it! they just cauterize the nerve pathways across the heart, so its not the function of the heart thats the problem. 6yrs on and am great.
I also wanted to say however while on FEC in 2015 my heart was constantly labouring and beating fast, all over the place...so it affected it greatly! It has settled down now..but I cannot exercise like an athlete for many reasons and chemo is a major culprit...
Melinda xo3 -
@melclarity so pleased to hear you were dale to have the ablation snd steady your heart. It’s these “effects” of radiation/chemo/hormone therapy etc we don’t hear about till after. Which is usually when we’ve suffered them thinking we’re the only one. I didn’t want to ‘complain’ to oncologist about my tiredness, depression anxiety as I felt I should be GRATEFUL for being cancer free. For me it’s like whinging and maybe becoming a hypochondriac after having been ‘treated’ for cancer. I feel like I should be grateful to be alive, and I shouldn’t expect to feel normal again. Yet it seems do many people feel the same. I guess by putting it here helps, but seems to need more publicity so people don’t double whammy themselves by feeling the changes to their lifestyle then feeling guilty for feeling them.
Today im going to allow myself to feel all these emotions, anxiety and depression and that I have and accept them and acknowledge it’s ok to feel tired and lethargic and it’s not my fault. I will do only what I feel like doing today.
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@sandramj you are totally right, there is no talk of the aftermath of treatment, you are expected to pick up where you left off according to everyone else including your Oncologist. They dont really want to know about any problems that treatment has brought on, talking from experience. Yes we are grateful BUT...a totally compromised quality of life too that nobody seems to acknowledge. So we do the best we can with what we have and find our peace and middle ground. The hardest thing is...and I know this to be true for me, Breast Cancer hasnt compounded my quality of life but rather the treatment, so mentally thats a tough thing to get around.
For me 2yrs on, Im actually happy at the place Im getting to, so its about setting yourself up for success. I will be working 4 days next year and I think I will manage, Ive increased my strength working with my Exercise physiologist. So its about not getting to where you were, but a place you are OK with. I think Im nearly there so hang in there..and acknowledge all the emotions, they are real, they are valid and they are your truth, nobody elses.
Its a slow ride, but you will rise slowly. Hugs Melinda xo1 -
Tachycardia (fast heart beat) is often a sign of AF (atrial fibrillation) and ablation is one option. The problem is a malfunction of the heart's electrical system, not damage to the muscle itself. I have chosen to live with a normal heart rate, but slightly irregular rhythm, managed by pills rather than ablation. Haven't had any tachycardia in years. Lots of options, main thing is to be aware that chemo may be a factor although probably not a direct cause.
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Wow, it’s been really interesting to hear from everyone about the different side effects of treatment. I am happy to be cancer free, but these side effects are impacting on my quality of life so much.
I’d love to see a register set up involving cardiologists and other health professionals where heart issues would be recorded and they could start keeping some data on heart issues which occur years after treatment. This could be done in the same way as they ask you are asked to register when you get a breast implant. This would start the process of monitoring heart issues in survivors. I know it’s not the only cause, but my heart specialist said that it is a major factor. Cardiomyopathy can be caused by Adriamycin, as can other heart issues.1
