Following treatment for breast cancer, many women want to know what they can do to ensure the cancer does not return. There’s one simple thing you can do to help reduce your risk – exercise!
Many studies have shown that an active lifestyle can help to reduce the incidence of breast cancer, but studies now also show that regular exercise can help to prevent breast cancer returning.
A Women’s Health Initiative longtitudinal study, examining more than 4,600 postmenopausal women, found that those who reported exercising for more than three hours a week were 40 per cent less likely to die from breast cancer.
Regular exercise doesn’t mean the cancer will definitely not return, but it does mean you are taking steps to help reduce the relative risk of the cancer returning.
Engaging in physical activity can also help to manage some of the physical side effects of cancer treatment, such as fatigue and pain.
Despite all that, it’s very easy to say exercise more, but a lot harder to do! In fact, you don’t actually have to do that much to make a difference.
It’s recommended that you exercise at a moderate level (which is defined as finding it hard to breathe, but not out of breath) for two-and-a-half hours a week, or 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.
There are lots of exercise programmes designed specifically for women with breast cancer, such as Pink Pilates, a specifically designed Healthy Steps programme, or dragon boating for women with breast cancer.
All of these programmes will help you to gain fitness and strength. They will also take account of any limitations breast cancer surgery and treatment may have caused.
But you don’t need to join a group exercise programme to make a difference. Simply walking more can help you achieve your goals.
Some other options include:
• Taking the stairs instead of the lift
• Getting a dog and taking it for a walk
• Playing physically with children or grandchildren in the park
• Using a pedometer to help you take the recommended 10,000 steps a day
• Taking up swimming or cycling
• Joining a gym or lifting weights
Finding an activity you actually enjoy, either on your own or with others, will help you to sustain your new exercise programme.
Other key points to help you keep on track include:
• setting measurable goals, eg I want to cycle for 30 minutes four times a week
• setting achievable goals. Don’t aim to run a marathon if you haven’t been exercising for the past year
• setting realistic goals that fit with your lifestyle. Aim to exercise for 30 minutes a day, not two hours a day.
• giving yourself a timeframe in which to achieve your goals.
By making specific and realistic goals, you’ll be able to monitor your performance more easily and register if you’re getting off track. If you don’t set realistic goals, you won’t stick to them so be kind to yourself and set yourself a goal that you know you can achieve.
The important thing is to make a commitment to yourself and your health to exercise in order to stay healthy and help to reduce the risk of breast cancer returning.
As with any exercise programme, you should discuss your plans with your doctor.
