PCa and exercise

[dorke]

We see many posts (mine also) about the benefits of exercise to counter the side effects of ADT /other treatments.

But does exercise has an effect also on the PCa progression ?

is that effect equal for all different stages ?

[pjoshea13]

Exercise can ameliorate the symptoms of the metabolic syndrome induced by ADT, & that should have some impact on non-PCa survival.

But I don't recall seeing convincing evidence of survival advantage perhaps due to a direct effect on the cancer.

Maybe we will get it from the INTERVAL-GAP4 Phase III study?:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/297...

-Patrick

[dorke in reply to pjoshea13]

Thanks Patrick,

Hope to be around by the end of the trial

[Tall_Allen]

According to this latest meta-analysis, physical activity after diagnosis reduced the risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality by 31%:

academic.oup.com/annonc/art...

This was especially true in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, where the men who exercised most had a 33% lower risk of death from any cause and a 35% lower risk of PCa-specific death, after adjustment for other risk factors for mortality and prediagnosis physical activity.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[dorke in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks Allen,

The second article says vigorous exercise for more than 3 hours a week is effective.

Between taking the meds, taking supplements (those who do that...) ,reading here at Healthunlocked and exercising we haven't left time to live

Its a bit disappointing they excluded patients with metastasic disease,didnt understand the rationale behind this

[pjoshea13 in reply to dorke]

They figured that by excluding mets they excluded men who were too sick to exercise.

You need an intervention study to show that exercise can make a difference.

-Patrick

[Hazard]

When I started ADT in May 2017 I quit working to work on my health. Went on a vegan diet, walked 8km per day, 3 gym sessions per week and competition tennis 2 nights per week (plus practice hit most weekends). I lost 20kg and I am fitter and stronger than I have been in 2 decades. End result - PSA went from 7.5 in May to a brief nadir of 2.5 in August to 47 by December. So in my experience exercise is great for general health a d certainly beneficial for dealing with side effects of treatment. But in my case it didn't stop PCa progression. But nor did zolodex, casodex or vegan diet. But zolodex and casodex do work for some people in some cases for many years so maybe exercise will help some people.

YMMV

[ucladany in reply to Hazard]

You are doing the right things, I think that you are benefiting even if the numbers do not show it. Praying for you my Brother. Keep on keeping on

[Hazard in reply to ucladany]

Thanks Brother.

[Cancer2x]

I don't know, but am concerned that while excercise should certainly benefit overall health, and help with the SEs of various treatments, it also would expect to build lean muscle through cell growth. CELL GROWTH! Isn't that exactly what we are trying to avoid here?

But maybe not. Our PCa is, I believe, being instructed to grow via rogue genetic signals, independent of exercise.

What role would serious exercise play in that process of building some cells, while ignoring others? Needs a real study, I should think. But since excercise is free, and not a drug that can be patented and marketed, I doubt we shall ever see that study.

Great question though!

[Tall_Allen in reply to Cancer2x]

We want cell growth of muscle tissue (difficult on HT) but not cell growth of cancer tissue (which HT prevents). Exercise helps with both - it encourages the growth of healthy tissue, while generating "reactive oxygen species" needed by your body to kill the cancer.

[dorke in reply to Tall_Allen]

Seems that exercise is also related to enhancement of the immune system/Natural killer cells which may help fighting cancer

discoverymedicine.com/Austi...

so, resistance training for muscle wasting / osteoporosis related to ADT and

Intensive aerobic to counter treatment SE and (maybe) to help fighting cancer

Also, there is a relationship between hormones released during training and the immune system which may also contribute.

Bottom line , "sweat is your friend"

[TenscTexan in reply to Tall_Allen]

Allen, I have a quick question. Can I grow muscle on HT? I thought it required testosterone to grow muscle. Thank you.

[Tall_Allen in reply to TenscTexan]

It's difficult - about the best one can hope for is not to lose muscle.

[TenscTexan in reply to Tall_Allen]

I can see a loss of muscle over the past year, but I haven't had significant weight loss. I'm sure that muscle loss has re distributed it self to my larger beer belly from the Zytiga/prednesone. That beer belly was previously fueled by the excess meat lost after surgical castration rendering me a peepee.

[dorke in reply to TenscTexan]

As Allen said ,challenging

livestrong.com/article/3492...

[wjlandis in reply to Tall_Allen]

What is HT?

[Tall_Allen in reply to wjlandis]

Hormone Therapy

[jholmq]

Life in general is something we have influence over, but not control. I exercised initially because my work life had de-conditioned me to the point where my cardiologist at the time thought I'd lost 80% of the function of the anterior part of my heart due to atherosclerosis. Not true, as an angiogram proved. What I found is that it made me feel so much better and gave me the capacity to do so much more that this was sufficient motivation to continue. Many of us have a long road before us, we hope. Being in good health will hopefully allow us to better tolerate the treatments we undergo. I know that, compared to a lot of posts I see here and on other forums I seem to have a much easier time with side effects than most. Anecdotal evidence most certainly, but real enough for me. I agree that more studies should be done to get a more empirical answer to your question and would be happy to participate.

[PLASTICMAN in reply to jholmq]

Yes, we must make sure we die in good health!

[jholmq in reply to PLASTICMAN]

It's about maintaining a good quality of life for as long as possible while we're still alive, not leaving a pretty corpse.

[jholmq in reply to jholmq]

This is not just for PLASTICMAN. We have a choice. We can sit around holding hands with our PC, bemoaning our fate, and being bitter with everything and everyone. Or we can decide that we're still alive now and get on with living. Death comes knocking for all of us sooner or later. We can wait fearfully and passively for him to come knocking on the door if we want. But I intend to make the bastard come and get me. By then he might be transformed into an old friend bringing much needed peace.

[Break60]

I never even thought about exercise as a way to slow progression. If it does, that’s great but IMHO the increase in strength , vitality, and endurance, the decrease in joint pain, and improved mood is well worth it as it improves quality of life.

Bob

[Magnus1964]

Just remember, riding a bike can affect your PSA. I use an elliptical, no seat to irritate the base area.

[Shooter1]

Fighting my way back after chemo, Xtandi side effects tried to kill me. Surgeries slowed me down and weakened me more, Started with 2# limitation after recovery from last surgery. Muscle coming back, but slowly. PT lady happy with my progress, no longer weak as a kitten. She says I'm up to a puppy. Now with 5# weights and 8# med. ball. Slow but steady hard work increase in muscle and control..