4 Reasons to Use Natural Healing Exercise for Breast Cancer Recovery

Recently a member of my extended family was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Her proactive approach to getting what, for her, was the best treatment for breast cancer opened my eyes to some wise changes I needed to make in my lifestyle. When I came upon these 4 reasons to use natural healing exercise for breast cancer recovery, I felt convicted once again to make sure to exercise frequently. This article talks about 3 good reasons for exercise:

4 Reasons to Use Natural Healing Exercise for Breast Cancer Recovery

Actually there are way more than 4 reasons to use natural healing exercise for breast cancer recovery

Exercise — sometimes even surprisingly intense exercise — is now recommended to help women regain strength and range of motion following breast surgery.

It is also precisely what the doctor ordered to help fight many of the physical side effects of certain treatments as well as the psychological challenges, such as depression, that often accompany the battle against this potentially life-threatening disease.

[…]

In the past, to determine whether breast cancer had spread or “metastasized” to other parts of the body, a surgeon removed many and sometimes even all of the lymph nodes under the armpit, in order to have them tested for the presence of cancer cells.

Removing lymph nodes puts patients at risk for developing lymphedema, a condition causing the swelling of the soft tissues of the arm or hand that is sometimes accompanied by numbness, discomfort and even infection.

Today, a procedure called sentinel node surgery is employed instead. By injecting a dye near the tumor and monitoring where the dye travels, the surgeon can tell what nodes will first be affected. The surgeon can then remove these surgical nodes exclusively. Removing fewer lymph nodes can reduce the patient’s chances of developing lymphedema.

“We once didn’t know if exercise would make lymphedema worse, but studies today now reveal that slow, progressive weightlifting does not worsen swelling,” says Dr. G. Varuni Kondagunta, oncologist with Crystal Run Health Care.

[…]

“Regular exercise and a diet low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables lowers levels of estradiol and estrone, two kinds of estrogen,” she says. Although women need estrogen to create strong bones, overexposure to estrogen can lead to breast cancer.

“Eighty percent of all breast cancers are fueled by estrogen. Exercise is a natural way to reduce and balance estrogen levels, and it can reduce other hormones and growth factors that can cause breast cells to turn into cancer,” Nemiroff says. “Exercise is a lifestyle intervention that breast cancer patients and survivors can use to improve quality of life, improve mood, physical functioning and symptoms of fatigue.”

Original Article Here

As I researched this article, I found that exercise not only helps recovery for breast cancer patients, it also helps reduce the risk of getting breast cancer. I guess that adds one more benefit  to the other 4 Reasons to Use Natural Healing Exercise for Breast Cancer Recovery – prevention.

you likely already knew there was a link between exercise and breast cancer, but I wanted to share this article because it gives the details.

Video on Benefits of Exercise for Breast Cancer

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_RINfgyfEc[/youtube]

So, whoever you are or wherever you live, you need to be exercising. Jut start with light exercise – you don’t need to over do it. Even if it’s just 30 minutes of walking a day, plan it into your day.

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