Being treeated for cancer, exercise can help
Being fit is no guarantee you can outrun cancer. We all know people who were in great shape before they were challenged with lung cancer, breast cancer, or colon cancer, to name just a few of the 1.3 million new cases of cancer diagnosed last year. And yet, if you want to significantly reduce your risk of getting many kinds of cancer, not to mention heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, it's smart to exercise early and often, at least three or four times a week.
What if you have cancer already? Can exercise help you cope with the notorious side effects of radiation and chemo, the fatigue, the nausea, the weight gain or loss? New research says yes.
"Exercise can reduce recovery time and help patients feel better as they deal with the side effects of cancer treatment," says nursing professor Vicki Conn, part of a team of researchers at the University of Missouri's Sinclair School of Nursing.
Cancer symptoms, such as pain, nausea and vomiting, were all eased by exercise, the study showed, and exercise helped survivors control their percentage of body fat, too. None of this is surprising, but it sure bears repeating: Exercise boosts your strength, your confidence and helps you heal, body and mind.
"All patients should speak with their doctors before implementing any exercise regimen with cancer treatment," Conn advises. If your doctor isn't up to date on this latest research, published in the July issue of "Supportive Care in Cancer," my advice is to find one who is.
Marilynn Preston welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergy
GO FLY A KITE
Flying a kite can be a great workout. Run with the wind! Resist with your arms! The bigger the kite, the better the challenge. And as far as I know, adult kite-flying is not illegal in Manhattan.
EN/X E-MAILBAG: PLAYGROUNDS ARE FOR CHILDREN!
J.M.M, who signed her e-mail "Protective Mom," didn't appreciate my recent suggestion that adults should allow their inner child to play in playgrounds:
"Nothing is more creepy than a man doing chin-ups or pushups in a playground. In Manhattan, it is against the law to be in a playground without being accompanied by a minor. Just last week, local police arrested what they believed to be a child predator in Hoboken. He was always doing pushups in the middle of the playground and chatting up a 5-year-old girl. Playgrounds ARE for children."