Perhaps I was actually doing something right. Before treatment I would run 3 miles and walk one 6 days a week. Even in recent weeks after surgery, I went for a daily walk. I would drag my body outdoors to get some fresh air and exercise for about a 30 minute walk. The only days I didn't go for a walk was when I was hospitalized and one week after surgery. I may have been walking slower than before diagnosis, but I was moving.
I was always encouraged to do so by the doctors and nurses. Other people would look at me like I grew two heads - you mean you didn't stay home and take a nap? At the time I was doing it because it was part of my daily routine to go for a walk and cancer wasn't going to upset my routines - even if it screwed up the rest of my life. In addition, it will help with that lovely treatment side effect - constipation - that they never told you about, once chemo begins.
Now, perhaps it looks like I was doing something right after all - they (the omnipresent) are recommending that exercise be part of cancer treatment. Patients should no longer be told to take it easy. Of course there is disagreement about how much benefit there is - whether it is a 40% reduction in the risk of recurrence for breast cancer or less - but they all agree exercise is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment