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9.25.07
Who has the energy to exercise regularly? Well, to be sure, not me and I am by no means a lazy person. (Just to give you a little bit of insight into my life, I have marathon running listed under ‘interests’ on my resume). I therefore CANNOT imagine what kind of motivation it must take to exercise for someone who is undergoing chemo for breast cancer.
While exercise has been the subject of many studies on how to prevent cancer, a new study, done by Professor Kerry Courneya at University of Alberta (Canada), is taking a look at exercise on the post-diagnosis side.
He recruited over 200 women with breast cancer who were beginning chemo and grouped them into 3 categories: resistance training, aerobic exercise and “usual care” (aka nothing). The most novel finding was the group that was doing weight resistance training actually increased their ability to complete chemo on time.
The reasoning behind why the weight resistance might have helped the patients is unknown, but Courneya speculates that workouts boost white blood cell counts. As he mentioned to a HealthDay reporter earlier this month, “If white blood cell counts fall during chemo, the chemotherapy sometimes has to be delayed or the amount of the drug given is reduced”
Both exercise groups also showed improvement in overall self esteem, an important issue when undergoing chemo because of hair loss and other concerns. So, even though it may be counterintuitive to exercise while undergoing treatment, there may be noticeable benefits.
Obviously, all cancer patients considering exercise should consult their doctor first.
9.24.07
Hello to my future readers! My name is Meredith, I am the resident “writer” for Saving Second Base (SSB) and you have just found your way to my blog about all things breast cancer.
To give you a bit of background into why I am blogging on this site, it has to do with the fact that SSB is dedicated towards getting young professionals involved in the fight against this terrible disease. As someone who considers herself in touch with the concerns, lifestyle and interests of our age group, I think that is pretty safe to say that most of us are not super informed about what is going on in the world of medical R&D. Whether it’s a new study related to prevention or a new drug released to help with treatment, breast cancer news is just not something that gets picked up on our radar—and I would like to change that.
Since it turns out that one in every eight women will eventually be diagnosed with breast cancer, this is an issue that will affect everyone at some point of time in their life. We cannot ignore the scale of this disease: we need to be informed.
The problem is, who wants (or has the time) to read a boring medical press releases or latest findings published in this month’s Scientific Journal? This is where I come in. Marisa, the founder of SSB, has agreed—for hopefully longer than a short trial period— to let me blog about breast cancer! This way, I can update you in a modern, abbreviated and, ideally, more interesting way than other formal resources. What’s more, I vow to go beyond the simple, dry regurgitation of material by incorporating opinions, reactions and feelings, just like any good blogger should.
The blogging will be irregular, whenever there is something noteworthy, so check back often. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me at: meredith@savingsecondbase.org. I would love to hear all of your opinions unless, of course, they conflict with mine, in which case you should keep them to yourself. JUST KIDDING! Well...sort of anyway.
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