What a terrible thought; trying to exercise while you are undergoing chemotherapy.
It has been well documented that if people can maintain an exercise program while going through chemotherapy treatment it helps to prevent some of the loss of muscle tissue that typically accompanies cancer treatment. New research shows that exercise may in fact help in other ways as well.
A recent study on mice found that exercise actually helped the chemotherapy to attack the cancer.
What the scientists discovered was that exercising while undergoing chemotherapy treatment had tumours shrink at faster rates than without exercising.
American researchers from the University of Pennsylvania set up a series of experiments using mice. All the mice were injected with melanoma cells in their neck. During the following two weeks, two of the groups received a chemotherapy drug in two doses, while the other two received placebo injections.
Mice in one of the groups were put on exercise regimes that included walking 45 minutes a day five times a week on treadmills and wheels whereas the other group with the chemotherapy drug remained sedentary.
The researchers found that after two weeks, the chemotherapy receiving mice had reduced heart function, which is a known side effect of chemotherapy in humans. This was the same regardless of whether the mice were exercising or not.
However their tumours had shrunk significantly faster in those that had been exercising.
The scientists hypothesised that the increased blood flow that occurs during exercise carries more of the chemotherapy drug to the area and therefore the treatment works faster.
They stated that "If exercise helps in this way, you could potentially use a smaller dose of the drug and get fewer side effects."
It appears that exercise may have a double impact for chemotherapy patients; increase the effect of the drug and prevent loss of muscle tissue. However, it needs to be the right exercise for the individual. Doing too much or the wrong type of exercise could weaken someone's immune system and make their battle harder.
Article Author: David Beard, Calico Calico Exercise Physiologist & Healthy Aging Expert