Can Exercise As A Form Of Fatigue Management Reduce Cancer Related Fatigue?

Cancer (online) states: “Therapists think that you become ill when energy pathways are blocked, and unblocking them can restore energy and balance.”

| The latest figures show that almost two-thirds of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive five years later, twice as many as in the early 1970s. More than three-quarters of women diagnosed with breast cancer are still alive after five years, an increase of 50 percent

VI. Many would have you believe that this is enough, due to the fact that the overall ‘survival rate’ has increased by thirty percent in the last thirty years according to the National Cancer Institute.

This manuscript is about the impact of participation in a community based exercise program on sleep quality in breast cancer survivors. While this is an important topic and the authors did a great job in describing the intervention, there are still a few issues that need to be addressed.

Cancer has one of the biggest effects on the patients mental health but also the patients loved ones and friends. It is one of the hardest things to get a grip on when the doctor tells someone that they have cancer and a fifty-fifty chance of making it. "The disease can bring many changes-in what people do and how they look, in how they feel and what they value" (Dakota 4). It makes people look at the world and their lives in a different way, valuing now what they took for granted and seeing the bigger picture in every scenario. It is something that no one can actually brace, even after the doctor tells them. Through it all though, the person must remain strong and optimistic because the cancer can affect the person's moods and in return affect the outcome of the person and the chances of their making it

Pain is one of the most common and feared complications of cancer. It is exacerbated by stress, anxiety, fatigue, and malaise which accompany advanced cancer. Pain is generally absent in the early stages of cancer, but it is a significant factor as the illness progresses to advanced stages. Cancer-associated pain can arise from a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms including direct pressure, obstruction, and invasion of a sensitive structure, stretching of visceral surfaces, tissue destruction, infection, and inflammation (McCance 2010). Pain is generally accepted as whatever the patient says it is, wherever the patient says it is. Treatment of pain and its associated symptoms is a primary responsibility of the healthcare team. Treatment modalities for pain include the use of opioid analgesics, patient-controlled analgesia, psychological interventions, and preventing recurrence of pain. Reinforcing the reporting of pain by the patient is important, as is a respect for the social and cultural differences with respect to pain perception.

The field of exercise science is facilitating and understanding of links between fitness exercise, diet and health. There have been many studies that show how exercise and the human body interact. My main interest is being a physical therapy and showing how exercise can help the human body when used effectively. If you over exert yourself, it can cause your immune system not to function correctly. In this exploratory essay a comparison of a journal article and news article to find out that intense exercise can cause the immune system not to recover after exercise.

The feedback from weSpark participants was so positive and encouraging that I started researching the positive effects of exercise on cancer patients and cancer survivors, as well as its effects on osteoporosis, depression, fatigue, and stress. Every week there seem to be more studies supporting this. Out of my research, I developed a 6-week Walking to Wellness Program.

Physical activity has been proven to stimulate various brain chemicals that can leave us feeling happy and relaxed. Dr. Mary de Groot of Indiana University ran a study on the link of depression and diabetes with exercise. With the diabetes patients, she had them perform a 12-week exercise and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention program. The group that exercised showed improvements both in depression and in blood sugar levels. (Weir) Working out consistently can also help tremendously with our self-esteem and confidence. Exercise can boost our energy by improving our endurance and muscle strength that can benefit us in daily life situations such as at work or school. It may seem counter intuitive to say, but expending energy can help us gain more energy. It can help your cardiovascular system work more effectively by delivering oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. More than 90% of studies indicate that exercise increases energy for nearly every group, ranging from sedentary to healthy adults to cancer patients. Exercise can also make us sleep more efficiently by being able to fall asleep faster and reach an even deeper sleep. This effect happens over time the more consistent we exercise. Research has shown that exercise has a long term effect on sleep, but having quality sleep has a short term effect on our

The majority of patients initially admitted for chemotherapy treatment tend to be rather mobile and active in their home life. However, during and after treatment their physical strength and

Unfortunately 30% of people in the US will develop cancer at some point, and two-thirds of those will eventually succumb as a result. In dealing with cancer, many patients have symptoms from the disease along with side effects of the medications that are extremely debilitating.

Cancer survivors are predisposed to experiencing issues in the areas of physical, psychological, social and spiritual due to the cancer disease process and cancer treatments (Mullen & Mistry, 2018, p.337). Common physical issues include fatigue, dysphagia and pain (Sugerman, 2013, p.218). Fatigue is an issue experienced by majority of cancer survivors (Mullen & Mistry, 2018, p.339). Mullen and Mistry (2018, p.339) state that it is important to perform a thorough assessment in order determine the cause of fatigue as fatigue can also be caused by other comorbidities including heart fatigue, hypothyroidism, hormone imbalances and/ or sleep disturbances. Nonpharmacologic treatment for fatigue includes participating in regular exercise, yoga, meditation and massage therapy (Kantor & Suzan, 2016, p.305). Pharmacologic interventions include steroids, epoetin alfa and methylphenidate (Kantor & Suzan, 2016, p.305). Additionally, in order to alleviate the impact of dysphagia, it would be beneficial for John to have a review with a dietitian as a dietitian will accurately assess the nutritional needs of John and

There is sufficient evidence supporting the use of physical exercise as a central element of rehabilitation for many chronic diseases.1 The effectiveness of implementing an exercise program with cancer patients is widely researched. Many studies note that any form of exercise performed has a proven effect to improve both physical and psychological effects associated with patients receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy for their cancer diagnosis. However, treatment modalities for cancer produce a number of negative side effects in patients, preventing them from participating in an exercise routine. Some of these side effects include: increased fatigue, tiredness, pain, not enough time due to treatment schedule, decreased strength and energy, shortness of breath on exertion, decreased motivation, and decreased concentration.2 Due to these common side effects, most patients are unable to continue a previous exercise program or begin a new program, even though the benefits have been shown to reduce the severity of most side effects experienced.

One can simply become tired, while others may be totally bedridden and disabled from fatigue. Sometimes the body is better, so the individual can lead an almost normal lifestyle, but then days or weeks later this strength may easily wane.

Physical activity has been proven to have phenomenal benefits on the human body and is an important part of a balanced lifestyle. Statistics have shown that regular exercise can prevent illness and lower one’s likelihood of being diagnosed with a series of diseases significantly. It has been ‘medically proven’ that regular exercise can reduce a subject’s chance of being diagnosed with coronary heart disease or stroke by 35%, type two diabetes by 50%, colon cancer by 50%, breast cancer by 20%, early death by 30%, osteoarthritis by 83% and a number of other life threatening illnesses. Regular exercise can improve a person’s overall wellbeing and immunity to common illnesses. During physical activity, a person’s heart rate can increase significantly and allow more oxygenated blood to be supplied to muscles. A person’s breathing rate can increase during exercise and supply more oxygen to the lungs. The increased blood flow during exercise allows the brain to function better. Exercise has many benefits to the human body and is a major factor of disease