Download New exercise guidelines for cancer patients say regular activity is a

New exercise guidelines for cancer
patients say regular activity is a good
thing
June 3, 2010 |
1:08 pm
Before we knew about the vast benefits of exercise for people with cancer, physical
activity wasn't always recommended during or after treatment. But with a number of
good studies showing the benefits of exercise, more health professionals are
recommending activity for cancer patients. New national exercise guidelines for people
with cancer are being released this week, emphasizing the advantages of movement for
people with various types of cancer.
"We have to get doctors past the ideas
that exercise is harmful to their cancer patients. There is a still a prevailing attitude out
there that patients shouldn't push themselves during treatment, but our message -- avoid
inactivity -- is essential," Kathryn Schmitz, an associate professor of epidemiology and
biostatistics and a member of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said in a news release.
Schmitz headed up a 13-person American College of Sports Medicine panel that
devised the exercise recommendations based on a number of published studies looking
at the safety and effectiveness of physical activity during and after cancer therapy. The
panel focused on studies about exercise for people with breast, prostate, hematologic,
colon and gynecologic cancers.
Research has shown that regular exercise can improve quality of life for many cancer
patients, giving them more energy and making it less arduous to go through treatments
such as chemotherapy.
Although the same 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity suggested for the
general population is also recommended for people with cancer, the prescription is not
one-size-fits-all. The panel noted that although most forms of moderate exercise, such
as strength training, yoga and swimming, are good for cancer patients, exercise
regimens should be tailored to accommodate fitness levels, diagnoses and safety
requirements. Someone with a compromised immune system, for example, may be
better off not exercising in a public gym.
Said Schmitz, "We now have a compelling body of high-quality evidence that exercise
during and after treatment is safe and beneficial for these patients, even those
undergoing complex procedures such as stem cell transplants. If physicians want to
avoid doing harm, they need to incorporate these guidelines into their clinical practice in
a systematic way."
Schmitz will present the guidelines Sunday at the annual meeting of the American
Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
-- Jeannine Stein
Photo credit: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times