After Cancer, How Much Exercise?

Common medical knowledge has it that people recovering from cancer and cancer therapy fare better if they exercise, but specific exercise guidelines for specific cancers and treatments have yet to be hammered out. Now, researchers at the University of Rochester hope to provide some advice. A University of Rochester news release reports that one study, which looked at the effect of six weeks of a home-based exercise plan (walking and resistance bands) on cancer-related fatigue and strength in 58 men with prostate cancer who were treated with radiation and androgen deprivation therapy, found that all men who exercised improved, while a control group did not. Another researcher found that a yoga program significantly reduced pain, muscle aches, and total physical discomfort women with breast cancer who were taking aromatase inhibitors, medications that deplete estrogen and often cause severe menopause-like symptoms. Yet another look at yoga therapy in middle-aged, mostly female cancer survivors showed that a four-week, customized gentle yoga plan significantly reduced perceived difficulty with memory.  Read more from the University of Rochester.