Cancer Patients Can Get Help Through Exercise

In another article on the benefits of exercise -- whether physical, mental, or emotional -- we now have some research that shows that exercise helps cancer patients improve their health as well. It might seem obvious because exercise is overall very beneficial, not a lot of people see the benefits of exercise in all aspects of their lives. In an article in US News & World Report entitled, "Exercise Boosts Health of Cancer Patients," we get some evidence that exercise can help cancer patients as well.

A recent study was based on the creation of a program called "ExCITE" that took thirty female breast cancer patients and twenty prostate cancer patients, between the ages of thirty-five and eighty, and worked with them in individualized exercise programs, then followed their progress for a year. Things evaluated in the patients included muscle strength, endurance, exercise capacity, weight, type of cancer treatment and so on, and also regularly evaluated blood work, bone density and so on.

Patients saw improved strength, less fatigue, better quality of life and more at the end of the study, showing that exercise can be a terrific alternative to medications that could have side effects. Exercise also doesn't interfere with cancer treatments like chemotherapy, like some medications do. The benefits of exercise are fairly clear, but here we have more evidence of its positive benefits. Makes you wonder how anyone wouldn't want to exercise, given that, if it's done in moderation, it's almost entirely beneficial.