According to the National Cancer Institute, staying physically active and maintaining a healthy weight are strategies for prevention and better recovery. Physical exercise is even more important if you are at high risk for developing breast cancer.
Not Enough Physical Exercise Linked to Poor Health
Inactivity is linked to increased inflammation in the body, which plays a major role in several chronic health conditions including a higher risk of certain cancers. Some examples of medical conditions that are connected to not being physically active include:
- Cancer
- Cognitive or mental impairment
- Depression
- Heart disease
- Metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and high blood pressure
- Overall increase in mortality or death in a population, regardless of the cause
- Weakened bones or osteoporosis
If you already engage in moderate physical activity each week, you’re already working to prevent breast cancer and improve your chances of survival if you get diagnosed. However, if you lead a largely sedentary lifestyle, start slowly, and give your body time to adjust to increasing amounts of exercise. This helps prevent injury as you increase your stamina.
How Much Exercise is Enough?
To see significant improvement in your health, you need approximately 30 minutes of exercise a day for five days a week. The good news is that you don’t have to exercise all at once. You can break it up into fragments throughout the day. In one study of breast cancer survivors, those who were the most physically active had a 40% lower risk of death from breast cancer than those who were the least active.
Your goal should be moderate cardiovascular exercise that allows you to carry on a conversation while you’re moving with slightly more effort than if you were standing still. Obvious examples include walking, biking, swimming, aerobics or sports, but other forms of moderate exercise include:
- Dancing
- Gardening
- Mowing the lawn
- Vacuuming and other household chores
- Washing your car
In addition to activities designed to increase your heart rate, work in one to two days a week of lifting weights to protect bone density, retain muscle mass and improve balance. Not sure where to start? Search for online exercise videos designed specifically for people with breast cancer. Simple changes like parking farther away at the store and taking the stairs instead of the elevator can all be counted toward your daily health and fitness goal. It’s important to add an activity that suits your personality and lifestyle so you can stick with it.
Exercise During and After Breast Cancer Treatment
How do you start if you’re recovering from surgery, chemotherapy or radiation? Be gentle with yourself and always talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
After you recover from surgery, the amount and type of exercise you can perform will depend on how physically active you were before your surgery and the type of surgery you need. A breast care specialist can explain certain arm and shoulder exercises that will help you recover your range of motion and the physical function you had before surgery. This is especially true if you’ve undergone breast reconstruction.
It can be difficult to plan for exercise after chemotherapy treatment because you won’t know how you’ll feel until you’ve gone through it. It’s best to accept your own experience and begin your exercise program when you feel ready. Some people have more side effects than others, and side effects can be unpredictable—it’s normal to feel tired one day but have more energy the next.
After radiation therapy, arm and shoulder exercises may be prescribed during and post-treatment to preserve muscle movement.
Weightlifting, also called resistance or strength training, can be particularly helpful if your doctor prescribes hormone therapy. Hormone therapy can cause bonesÂÂ to weaken, increasing your risk of osteoporosis. Resistance training one to two days a week, along with eating a healthy diet every day, helps build bone density.
Also, adding light exercise pre-operation can lead to a smoother surgery and easier recovery.
Exercises to Adopt and Avoid
There isn’t one exercise proven to be more beneficial in the prevention of breast cancer than others. That means you have plenty of options and prevents you from getting bored doing the same activity every day. However, some people find the same exercise routine comfortable, so whatever gets you moving is the right activity for you.
Not sure how to start exercising? Try walking. It’s easy, requires nothing more than a pair of good shoes and has helped many patients feel better physically as well as emotionally by helping to reduce anxiety and manage stress. Start slowly with mild to moderate walking and build up your pace as you recover, and your strength grows. If you prefer another type of exercise, consult your treatment team to make sure to prevent complications.
Swimming can be a great way to maintain a healthy weight and long-term exercise program, but radiation treatment can irritate the skin, and pool chemicals, such as chlorine, can temporarily aggravate the treated area. Check with your radiation team if you would like to swim following this treatment. Be sure to rinse off your body well after getting out of the pool to lower the chance your skin will become irritated.
If you’re still wondering if exercise can help you either before or after your cancer diagnosis, the answer is yes. A healthy diet and regular exercise are linked to lower rates of cancer and faster recovery as well as better long-term survival, so start moving to feel better today and in the future.
Listen to a Podcast
Exercise and Breast Cancer
We all know that exercise is good for us. But did you know that exercise can help lessen your chance of getting breast cancer? Exercise also helps during breast cancer treatment and recovery. In this podcast, learn from Dr. Kamila Choi why exercise helps, what kinds you need to do, and whether it is helpful for preventing other cancers as well. Listen here or below.
More to Read
- Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer
- How Common Is Breast Cancer in Men and How Can You Tell If You’re At Risk?
- Find a Lump in Your Breast? What to Do Next
- Why You Should Go to Your Well-Woman Exam This Year
Medically reviewed by Kamila Novak Choi, MD.
