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NECA invites you and encourages you to incorporate exercise into standard cancer care as a counterbalance to the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment and view it as an additional therapy aimed at improving the patient’s quality of life, and as an integral part of cancer care.
Exercise: A type of physical activity consisting of planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement for the purpose of improving and/ or maintaining health and physical fitness.
The goal of exercise is to improve health and fitness by engaging in structured physical activity.
Physical Activity: Any bodily movement produced by the contraction of skeletal muscles that results in a substantial increase in caloric requirements over resting energy expenditure.
Exercise, provided it is sufficiently intense and/or prolonged, is a powerful activator of the neuroendocrine system (i.e., a stressor).
Whether you need to make any changes to your activity level depends on your medication, surgery, or side effects. Discuss this with your doctor before you begin, since certain modifications may be necessary. If you are developing an activity program, you may want to seek advice from a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist. Keep in mind that activity should enhance your recovery, not hinder it.
Set small goals and keep track of your progress as you slowly and safely add activity to your day. It can be something as simple as walking to the mailbox and back. In fact, walking the dog around the block is fine too. A person with cancer may need specific exercise adaptations based on their health status, and adverse effects associated with their disease. Exercise recommendations should be tailored to the individual’s abilities.
A gentle exercise session of 5-10 minutes every week or every other day.
After having treatment
The health care professions’ role in promoting these recommendations is critical to the care of patients with cancer. (COSA)
A health professional who specialises in prescription and delivery of exercise should be referred to (for example, a certified exercise physiologist/physiotherapist who specializes in cancer treatment).
Take precautions to protect yourself from COVID-19. See these recommendations for visiting parks and recreational facilities.
If you have a compromised immune system due to several treatments (low white blood cell count) or a catheter/feeding tube, avoid: