Working Out Helps Fight Cancer

This a guest post by Liz Davies

Working Out Helps Fight Cancer

Cancer patients must undergo various treatments and surgeries that will most likely leave them with side effects like fatigue, insomnia and an altered mindset. Though this may seem terrible, there are ways that cancer patients can help themselves. One of those ways is to be physically active.

How working out helps fight cancer

Working out and physical activity is by no means a cure for cancer. However, it can greatly improve a cancer patient's health, both physically and mentally. Fitness has already been proven to help prevent cancer. Just as well, it can be a very helpful aid for conventional treatment.

Physical benefits

Treatments, surgeries and chemotherapy are great for killing cancer cells, but it can also leave a negative after-effect on the body. Along with side effects, cancer treatments can also kill healthy cells and tissues, leaving the body to work extra hard to recover. As a result, cancer patients often feel very tired, irritable and stressed. Insomnia is also a very common side effect, adding to cancer patients' overall irritability.

Working out keeps the body stimulated, helping to improve the internal functions, such as the respiratory system, circulatory system and immune system. When all of the cancer patient's internal functions are working properly, he or she should have an easier time coping with the treatments and therapy.

Mental benefits

Many cancer patients admit that they feel like they lost total control of their life when they were diagnosed with their condition. That is why many of them develop a negative outlook on their life. When people lose hope for themselves, they lose the ability to remain optimistic.

However, even having a negative outlook on life can inhibit the body's ability to stay healthy. Studies show that optimistic people are generally healthier and heal faster than negative people. While there are many theories as to why this is, most experts speculate that optimistic people have a chemical balance that produces a special hormone that helps the body stay healthy.

Working out also produces a special hormone, called endorphins, that helps to regulate all the other hormones necessary for being optimistic. This is especially important for female patients, since females are twice as likely to develop symptoms of depression.

Cancer patients need to work out

Every cancer expert recommends their patient to remain physically active. This is important for people with breast cancer, liver cancer and even rare forms of cancer like, pleural mesothelioma. It is a vital aspect of the recovery process. It can be hard to stay motivated to exercise. Patients must remind themselves of what is important in life, and use those thoughts as motivation. Once the patient sees and feels a difference in his health, he will be even more motivated to work out more often.






Liz Davies is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in health and wellness. She wants to make a difference in people’s lives because she sees how cancer has devastated so many people in this world. Liz also likes running, playing lacrosse, reading and playing with her dog, April.