Article by: Dr. Zoe Arugay
Photo: Newscom 

In new guidelines on cancer and exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) urges cancer patients to be physically active as possible during and after their treatment.

Kathryn Schmitz, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in Philadelphia, studies the role of physical activity in chronic diseases. Schmitz presented the guidelines at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting last week. "The idea that you should be staying put and resting is ultimately doing more harm than good," says Schmitz.

The Benefits of Exercise

Regular exercise improves energey in cancer patients. Other benefits include preventing the weight gain associated with treatment and provides a psychological boost. Moreover, exercise can focus on resistant exercises will help increase muscle mass and gain that functional tissue that a cancer patient needs. This is particularly helpful in cancers such as those of the prostate, stomach and gut, and head and neck cancers that can lead to a significant decrease in muscle mass, loss of taste and an inability to process certain foods.

Although most patients are unable to achieve the same physical attainments as before their diagnoses, Schmitz says that staying active still helps them achieve "a whole lot more than they would have been able to if they hadn't been exercising."

How much exercise is enough?

The ACSM recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, which works out to about 20 minutes a day - just the same amount of exercise recommended to the general public. 

People who were sedentary before their diagnosis should start by walking for 10 minutes each day, says Schmitz, and gradually increase their time by 10 percent to 15 percent each week until they can do 30 minutes at a stretch, five times per week.

On days when the patient feels nauseous, exhausted or utterly despondent, this is when friends and family can come in to motivate.

Finally, it is very important to pick an activity that the patient will enjoy.

The perks that exercise gives cancer patients - or anyone for that matter - are overflowing. The ACSM recommends that any kind of activity is better than none. At times, even a short walk can do wonders to alter one's mood and energy levels - whether you are a cancer patient or are cancer-free.