CLL and exercise article

[Research123]

medicalxpress.com/news/2020...

I came across this article. It surprises me the docs don't talk more about exercise for us lot. I've been doing and it certainly lifts my spirits whatever else it does

[AussieNeil Administrator]

"Patients are always asking, 'What can I do in the meantime to fight my disease?' Exercise may be a good answer."

It's frustrating for us, knowing we have cancer and being told to "watch and wait". I would say that there is far, far more evidence for the benefits of improving your fitness than trying a radically different diet, taking supplements or trying alternative treatments. Exercise is actually very well recognised for providing significant benefits if you have cancer and you feel better and less fatigued too!

An exercise pill would be prescribed to every cancer patient worldwide and viewed as a major breakthrough in cancer treatment

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

The Benefits of Exercise with CLL and COVID-19

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

Neil

[AdrianUK]

This is not that surprising since we know exercise (IF we can manage it!) is really health promoting in so many ways. You might be interterested in the Zoom call later today (click my name to find the other post about it) as we are going to be talking about healthy living which whether it has any direct effects on CLL or not it surely has to be useful for our general health.

[avzuclav]

To me, the most interesting paragraph in the article:

"Because CLL has not been linked to obesity the way some other cancers have, the effect of exercise is little studied in this disease. Collaborating with Assistant Professor of Medicine Danielle Brander, MD, and Medical Instructor Andrea Sitlinger, MD, Bartlett found some surprises. First, they conducted physical functional testing in 140 people with CLL. Then they compared immune system cells from the 10 most fit patients with cells from the 10 least fit. "We found that the fitter people have a completely different immune system than the unfit people. They have different levels of circulating factors that can affect their leukemia cell biology," Bartlett says. And, when he incubated the blood plasma of the patients with tumor cells, the blood from the fittest patients slowed the growth of the tumor cells better than blood from other patients. These preliminary findings won Bartlett a young investigator award from the American Society of Hematology to continue this work."

[AdrianUK in reply to avzuclav]

Of course what we do not know is which direction this flows in. Does the “slow down rest and get better” citokine mix released by more aggressive CLL clones affect the fitness or does the fitness truly affect the growth or is it both ways. One hypothesis I have is that CLL is like a handbreak slowing you down but if you are speeding along when you pull that hand brake you notice it less than if you are slow. Or to put it anothe way if you are loose half your fitness stamina / muscle strength and you are very fit you might be less effected than if you weren’t fit in the first place.

[CoCoLuna11]

Thanks for posting this! I’m glad to see this research is happening with CLL specifically. I’m 50 and I try to stay active doing something everyday (yoga, running, bicycling). I wonder if that’s mainly what has been keeping the infections away. My doc and I are stumped as to why I am not getting sick with IGg at 65. In any case, it helps with all the other stuff (attitude and getting through treatment, etc.)

[RZ8983DV]

Interesting. I have been going to gym doing a bit of cardio, sometimes weightlifting , and swimming since before being diagnosed with CLL in 2008. So far I have been asymptomatic, not needed treatment and my WBC and ALC have been relatively low , ALC 39 at its peak before coming down slightly. I wonder what the effects of the 4 1/2 months of enforced idleness with lock downs and shielding will be. I'll find out soon enough at my next haematology appointment at the end of the month

[Research123 in reply to RZ8983DV]

I bought a used running machine off eBay before lockdown by chance. I think whatever exercise you can fit in at home is good. Glad to hear you've been doing so well for a long time. My theory is do what you can to help - I go in for pescatarian, occasional fast and exercise + various foods that are anti cancer + attempting anti stress exercises- then hopefully each can help a little bit hopefully making a bigger impact overall. I'm on w and w as well and at least feel good for it.

[LeoPa]

youtu.be/ffgAVrANmS4(Not working as expected?)

might be of interest.

[LeoPa]

just search for "catalyst exercise and cancer" on YouTube.

[Research123 in reply to LeoPa]

very interesting thank you

[thompsonellen]

So "watch and wait" is now "dynamic monitoring?" I was always in good cardiovascular shape and when I got my diagnosis, I doubled down on diet and exercise to feel I was doing everything possible and ended up in treatment 6 months later anyway. That said, I still think exercise is vitally important for health and wellbeing, as well as a fountain of youth for me. (COVID isn't helping with the diet.)

[Research123 in reply to thompsonellen]

I think exercise is one of those zero downside options - it might well help and certainly won't do any harm - and the odds are in it's favor

[barger1951]

I completely agree!!

[Catnap7]

I have been on board with working out my entire life...perhaps that is why (even with my past CLL choking nodes ) I can say my healthy life style never spiraled me very far down at all ... I am blessed to have felt so good through this journey. BUT I will definitely admit I can’t wait until my trial is over and I can stop Ibrutinib and Venetoclax. ... YES a love/ hate relationship if you know what I mean

Catnap7

[Fant1924]

My cancer center has offered me a trainer and 12 biweekly training sessions in a small fitness center onsite. I am enjoying it very much.

Dennis, 73, Venetoclax

[AussieNeil Administrator]

For those of us that enjoy drinking alcohol, some exercise enticing research: Could being active reduce cancer death risk from alcohol?

mdedge.com/hematology-oncol...

Now for the caveat : The new results require confirmation because the findings “are limited in their statistical power,” with small numbers of cases in several categories, said Alpa Patel, PhD, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, who was not involved in the study.

Patel stressed that, “based on the collective evidence to date, it is best to both avoid alcohol consumption and engage in sufficient amounts of physical activity.” That amount is 150-300 minutes of moderate or 75-150 minutes of vigorous activity per week for cancer prevention.

Neil

[Peggy4 in reply to AussieNeil]

How lucky then that I’m tee total! I also tell lies. 🤣🍸🤣🍸

Peggy

[CoCoLuna11 in reply to AussieNeil]

Oh you had to go there AussieNeil! That’s the one I fret a little about. I keep telling myself a little is fine because of the polyphenols and resveratol. I even measured out 5 oz yesterday to stay within the “healthy” limit. Other days I say $&*% it! I’m entitled to live life.....But good to know the exercise might help with that too! 🤣

[bennevisplace]

Two years after diagnosis I did a 3 week trek in the Himalayas at altitudes between 2800 and 5600 metres. In this period I would have made more red cells to cope with atmospheric oxygen being reduced by up to 50 percent. Interestingly my next blood test also showed a step up in my white cell count, a result consistent with this new research, which seems to indicate that vigorous exercise draws immune cells into the blood.

[Happygarden]

On the back of my CLL diagnosis and a general recommendation to avoid swimming I want to return to running (slow and sedate) plus a bit of Nordic walking and golf.....none of it is fast or furious so I am assuming exercise at this level will be ok

[vog292]

The basic and most beneficial exercise is WALKING. The most practical is to get a basic WALKING TREADMILL which has some elevation capacity. They cost less then $ 500. This is for exercising the big muscles below the belly that also absorb CLL medication together with the digestive system, and for carciovascular and respiratory stimulation. This avoids the cold, the heat, the rain, the traffic - outside. You can stabilize with your hands on the sidebars and watch TV. Yes, it is not heroic, but the best basic for the long haul!

[JustAGuy]

I heartily agree!

[OmBewok]

What a great article. Thanks for posting it. It is inspiring. Encourages me to head out for another long distance walk!! Thanks.

[Abernathy]

Thanks for this.

I used to be very active and regular gym attendee 2 to 3 hours however, new to the whole CLL scene.

I'm finding it tough to get back in to it, as the next day I'm all in, feels like I'm walking in treacle and we are only talking 10 mins on exercise bike, some curls and shoulder stuff max 20-25 mins all in. So trying to do it every other day unless I take dog for a walk. It's encouraging to see many of you are able to get to a good level of activity. Fingers crossed I get there soon.

Keep smiling and be safe.

[Research123 in reply to Abernathy]

I read somewhere that the most important thing is to establish the habit even if it's 2 mins exercise a day (at a regulaar cue like the moment you get up or when you get in straightway) as if you insist on a couple of hours, it's much easier to procrastinate. And once the habit is there it gets easier to do more. So I guess it's pretty good you're doing something and I'm sure you'll get better. I think the challenge is to improve on yesterday not what we were at former times. Although looks like you're doing quite a lot compared to most of us I suspect which is great

[Abernathy in reply to Research123]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Yes slowly slowly I'm leaning but my wife keeps telling me not to be to hard on myself I've promised to try

[AussieNeil Administrator in reply to Abernathy]

Early in my CLL journey, I was struggling with constant infections that severely hit my fitness. I gradually rebuilt my fitness by going for gradually longer walks and bicycle rides, but found that even if I felt well while exercising, I could overdo it and spend the next day or three very fatigued. I just wasn't able to get past this hard to determine barrier. I concurrently learned that vitamin D deficiency is common in CLL, got my vitamin D serum level tested, found that I was low and started taking 1,000IU daily. Coincidentally, that coincided with me being able to do more without wiping myself out for days. I also found that unless I was extremely fatigued, going for a walk when fatigue hit would lift the fatigue.

You do seem to be doing more than most of us I expect, so do keep it up. It really does make a difference.

Neil

[Abernathy in reply to AussieNeil]

Thanks for the reply, yes walking the dogs makes me forget. I am just learning to roll with the fatigue. I'm sure I will get there, wherever there turns out to be