Do women really know the extreme benefits exercise can have on prevention, making it through treatment, and reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence?
By Cheryl Coppa
As we close out the month of October, we wanted to touch on breast cancer, since it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. We had some fun in our Fun Friday classes that all had some sort of “PINK” theme. 30 minutes of our day that was spent creating strength and joy regardless of what circumstance we were in. I had to wonder, do other women really know the extreme benefits exercise can have on prevention, making it through treatment, and preventing the recurrence?
There are very real and very potent steps you can take, so I wanted to share with you what they are and how accessible they are to you.
According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, based on 67 different studies, exercise reduced breast cancer recurrence and mortality by 40%
According to the CDC, “Each year in the United States, about 240,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women and about 2100 in men. About 42,000 women and 500 men die each year in the United States from breast cancer. Black women have a higher rate of death from breast cancer than all other women.”
According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, based on 67 different studies, exercise reduced breast cancer recurrence and mortality by 40%! This is astounding!
It’s no secret that exercise is good for you on so many levels, it’s one of those things that everybody knows they should do but still don’t. But do you really know? Do you really understand how potent the benefits of exercise can be? Regardless of your weight, regardless of your age, you can still have incredible benefits to reap from exercise.
Breast Cancer - How Does Exercise Help With Prevention?
Women who get regular exercise have a lower risk of breast cancer than women who do not exercise.
Women who exercise have a 25% lower risk of breast cancer.
Why is this? When you are active and exercise, you can lower your blood estrogen levels. Exercise boosts your immune system so this can help fight off the development of cancer cells. There is no shortage of studies that prove this, and so much more!
How Does Exercise Help With Getting Through Treatment Successfully?
If you're undergoing treatment, consult with your doctor to determine when it's safe to begin exercising. They are likely to recommend it as soon as it's suitable for your condition.
Low energy, anxiety, and depression are common hurdles you may face in treatment, even if you cannot do much, any movement is going to be good, even just going for a walk and limiting your time sitting or lying down. The more time you can spend in movement, the better. Your body is designed to move, so once you can get moving, this can and will help with your mood and energy.
When your body is undergoing treatment your immune system is even more compromised, so just as mentioned above, exercise is a great way to boost/ revive your immune system, especially when you pair that with proper nutrition. Treatment can also speed up the loss of muscle mass and loss of bone density, this is already happening as you age so it is very important to exercise to fight back. At the same time, exercise will give you a sense of control in your health and your recovery both physically and mentally.
How Does Exercise Help With The Recurrence of Breast Cancer?
A combination of all the above!
👉 Boosting Immune system
👉 Sense of control in your health
👉 Lower blood estrogen levels
How Much Do I Need to Exercise?
The recommendation across the board in all studies and findings is 150 minutes a week. That equals out to just 20 minutes a day. Let me repeat that, just 20 minutes a day! 20 minutes a day to prolong your life and improve the quality of your life! As a trainer, this seems to me like a no-brainer. Especially being a trainer here at Ola Ka Ola, where our training is 30 minutes or less, you have a variety of options to suit your capabilities and we are pretty good at helping you find the type of training that keeps you WANTING to show up! You can have FUN and find JOY in your fitness and health deposits.
If you have never done this before, no one would expect you to jump right in and you don’t have to jump right in. You can start with just 2 times a week and build from there. This is still going to get you working in the right direction and is most definitely going to increase your health even with minimal deposits.
I invite you to give Ola Ka Ola a try, feel the difference for yourself and control what you can.
About Cheryl Coppa
✔️ A certified Core Confidence Specialist (Core and Pelvic Floor retraining)
✔️ A certified Personal Trainer specializing in women's fitness over 40
✔️ Low-Pressure Fitness / Hypopressive certified by creator Dr. Tamara Rial
✔️ Pre/postnatal corrective exercise specialist
✔️Instructor of the Pelvic Floor Health program, Ola Ka Ola
✔️ 40 years young, wife & mother of 3