Studies on Astronauts Valuable for Exercise Prescription in Cancer Recovery

[Shar0n]

Cancer survivors after treatment share certain characteristics with astronauts according to this post from AICR :

tinyurl.com/y9ok8qfd

[wmay13241]

Exercise recommendations from this website:

One of the most common questions I’ve been asked by patients is ‘what is the best exercise program for me?’ This is one of the most important questions in exercise-oncology research and one that will likely require many years to answer. What we’ve found, both in astronauts and cancer patients, is that one size of exercise does not fit all. However, based on current evidence in oncology settings, as a first step, patients may need to check with a doctor before beginning an exercise program. Once cleared for activity, the exercise guidelines for cancer patients/survivors are to: (1) avoid inactivity, (2) if relatively new to exercise perform either i) 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or ii) 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity each week, (3) if a regular exerciser, try increasing the moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes or your vigorous-intensity physical activity to 150 minutes each week.

These recommendations can be achieved by adding a few minutes of activity to a daily routine such as: taking the stairs, adding an extra 15 minute walk before/after work or even at lunch, or walking a little faster or changing a walking route from a flatter route to one with a few small hills. There are also cancer-experienced exercise specialists (e.g., clinical exercise physiologist, kinesiologist, physiotherapist) and programs that can help to initiate a new exercise program following a cancer diagnosis. Small steps can make a big difference for cardiovascular health!

Being active or exercising before surgery, during therapy, and after therapy has many health benefits, and based on current guidelines there is no reason a person going through treatment should shy away from exercise. But patients don’t need to start training for a marathon in order to benefit from the protective effects of exercise.

[Shar0n Volunteer in reply to wmay13241]

Excellent synopsis. I'm going to print it out. Thank you!

[BelindaTupper]

This is very interesting! thanks for sharing it.