Exercise can prevent Breast Cancer relapse
Exercise can prevent Breast Cancer relapse
This was the headline in the 25th February 2017 edition of the New Scientist based on a study published in a Canadian Medical Journal.
A review of 67 studies of lifestyle and breast cancer survival has quite clearly shown that regular exercise reduces the chance of breast cancer relapse by about 40%. The optimum amount of exercise was about two and a half hours a week with the exercise being described as moderate. Spread over a week that is only just over 20 minutes a day, which is easily achievable assuming no disability.
We can consider moderate to be something like brisk walking that gets us breathing a bit faster. That will then be accompanied by an increase in blood flow around the body.
The benefits of this type of exercise are numerous. It reduces the chances of heart attacks and strokes. In fact in Preston “Heart Beat” puts people who have had a heart attack through exercises to strengthen heart muscle.
Exercise has also been shown to boost self-esteem, reduce mild anxiety and mild depression, favourably influence mood, improve memory in the elderly and calm down stress related conditions. In tests carried out immediately after the exercise, recent research has shown that a period of exercise also improves many aspects of brain function.
So get exercising 5 half an hour brisk walks or the equivalent in cycling, swimming or whatever you like doing because if you like it then it is easier to keep up.
ColinSutherland March 2017
