David Haas, a reader and supporter of this website, asked to share his thoughts on the value of excercise and nutrition for cancer patients as they recover from their illness. Thanks David for this submission – jwa

Fitness During Recovery From Cancer

Exercise reduces stress, promotes healthier sleep habits, and generally increases happiness for most people. Clearly, exercise is good for everyone but people who are fighting cancer arguably need stress relief and an increased sense of well-being more than the average patient. Oncologists traditionally advised cancer patients to avoid activity, but recent research suggests that exercise benefits cancer patients as much as it benefits people who are not facing cancer treatment.

Cancer patients might feel as if they’ve completely lost control of their body. Not only that, but the side effects of many treatments wreak havoc on self-esteem. Newly dedicated exercise enthusiasts attest to a sense of pride and strength. It is certainly true that slowly working yourself up from two to ten push-ups and being able to take the stairs at work without becoming winded are significant accomplishments and demonstrate a certain amount of control over one’s body. Gaining such control can make all the difference in the world to a cancer patient who is struggling to get out of bed each morning. Fitness can help give people struggling through any type of cancer treatment, whether it is breast cancer, skin cancer, or even a rare disease such as mesothelioma, more energy to get through each day.

Before jumping into an exercise program, make sure you discuss your plan with your doctor. Because of your particular health concerns, certain exercises might not be a good idea. For example, if you are suffering from a weak immune system, it might not be wise to exercise in a crowded gym. Exercise programs should always be tailored to the needs of each person. A patient going through mesothelioma treatment will almost certainly need a different exercise program than a patient who is recovering from ductal carcinoma.

As cancer patients, we often focus on whether a particular treatment will increase our life expectancy. The National Cancer Institute is currently researching how exercise specifically benefits cancer patients. These studies will be interesting to monitor. It’s a good idea for most cancer patients to monitor these studies from a treadmill or in between yoga classes, because we don’t need research scientists to tell us that we feel better once we get moving.

Cancer is a complicated beast and it is too early to know whether the research will show that life expectancy for cancer patients increases with regular exercise. Regardless of the final results of the research, exercise will certainly improve the quality of life for cancer patients. Gaining a new sense of self-confidence, increasing the amount of sleep you get each night, and decreasing your stress levels are reason enough to start using your muscles.

By: David Haas Writer of the Haas Blaag

What does it mean to feel like you’re Charlie Brown? Some times, the world just feels brown, doesn’t it. Not red, or green…just plain old brown. So what do you do when you’re kinda Charlie Brownin? Get up off the coach, and call a friend. Or go for a run. Maybe get a big old hug from someone. Or pat your dog. After all, even Charlie Brown had Snoopy.

Disease is so limited. It cannot cripple love. it cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrode faith. It cannot eat away peace. It cannot destroy confidence. It cannot kill friendship. It cannot shut out memories. It cannot silence courage. It cannot invade the soul. It cannot reduce eternal life. It cannot quench the spirit.

Her body has been through a tremendous battle, and now that the battle is over, she needs to begin restoring her body in the best way that she can. This starts with eating right, and means that she should include more fruits, vegetables, and other cancer-fighting foods in her meals and snacks to strengthen her immune system.

Check if her insurance company will pay for a consultation with a nutritionist; if not, look into the possibility of paying for a private consultation instead. It’s well worth the money to get started again on the right nutritional track. It would be great to encourage her to begin an exercise program.  A side effect of many of the drugs is bone density loss. A simple and easy way to help counter osteoporosis is weight training. Studies have shown that lifting is a great way for women to slow the loss of bone density. There are an infinite number of exercise programs from which she can choose, so she should pick the one that she will enjoy the most. It could be yoga, walking, weight training, swimming, hiking, kickboxing, boxing, biking, and anything in between.

Since your body is battle-fatigued as well, consider what your own exercise and supplement regime will be now. You probably have been feeling worn down, tired, and, yes, depressed. You need to jump-start your own physical care. Start with a set of tennis or two, or a walk around the block—anything to get you active and out of the house.

What just happened? After being treated for breast cancer, most women ask this question, to themselves. This question leads many, if not most, breast cancer survivors into a heavy examination of their lives, now that survivorship is an integral part of who she is. Depending on your loved one, she may or may not want to make big changes in her life, while you just want to get back to the way things were before. ‘‘She is thinking that she is forever changed, and says to herself, ‘I am not going back to the way things were,’ ’’ according to Penny Damaskos, Coordinator of the Post-Treatment Resource Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. ‘‘Cancer has been a huge wake-up call to live her life differently.’’

Finally, it’s over. After her last treatment, it’s time to rebuild, reinvent, and reinvigorate her and your life again. The time has arrived when you leave Cancer Land and reenter daily life. Some- thing has changed, however. The world she and you left when you went to Cancer Land no longer exists.

You thought that after treatment, you’d resume a regular, normal, everyday Joe kind of life, right? You’ve been craving, for so long, that ‘‘normal day’’—starting with breakfast, the morning drive, work, and/or maybe a round of golf, tennis, the gym perhaps, lunch, dinner, TV viewing, then off to bed.

But something is different than before. Something has markedly changed. She, and you, have been living in Cancer Land while the rest of the world, for the most part, hasn’t had a clue about your experiences. So what do you do now? It’s time to start over. It’s time to build your New Normal Life.