There is evidence that exercise , such as low intensity aerobics walking , Tai Chi , or cycling , results in an overall decrease in fatigue levels over the course of cancer treatment .
Additionally , there is evidence that regular physical activity or exercise can decrease emotional stress , blood pressure , the duration of neutropenia , thrombocytopenia , and pain .
Exercise also has been shown to increase quality of life and improve the maximal oxygen uptake during exertion , sleep patterns , and cognition .
Disease and cancer treatment-related side effects such as decreased energy level , muscle weakness , and declines in functional status and body mass have been well documented .
However , the majority of studies of exercise and cancer have been conducted with women with early stage breast cancer , limiting the generalizability of these studies to other cancer population s. The purpose of this systematic review is to provide a synthesis of the extant research evidence about th e benefits of exercise related to cancer recovery
Moderate exercise training and natural killer cell cytotoxic activity in breast cancer patients.
Sixteen female breast cancer patients who had been diagnosed ( 3.0 + /- 1.2 years previous to the study ) and undergone surgery , chemotherapy , and /or radiation treatment were r and omly assigned to exercise and nonexercise groups . Pre- and post- study measurements were taken for aerobic performance , leg strength , and concentrations of circulating lymphocyte subsets and natural killer cell cytotoxic activity ( NKCA ) .  Exercise training consisted of 60 minutes of supervised weight training and aerobic activity three times each week for eight weeks . Although subjects in the exercise groups demonstrated some modest improvement in the various aerobic and strength tests , NKCA and concentrations of circulating T and NK cells were not significantly altered relative to the nonexercise group . This study suggests that moderate exercise over an eight-week period has no significant effect on the function of in vitro natural killer cells in breast cancer patients
There is evidence that exercise , such as low intensity aerobics walking , Tai Chi , or cycling , results in an overall decrease in fatigue levels over the course of cancer treatment .
Additionally , there is evidence that regular physical activity or exercise can decrease emotional stress , blood pressure , the duration of neutropenia , thrombocytopenia , and pain .
Exercise also has been shown to increase quality of life and improve the maximal oxygen uptake during exertion , sleep patterns , and cognition .
Disease and cancer treatment-related side effects such as decreased energy level , muscle weakness , and declines in functional status and body mass have been well documented .
However , the majority of studies of exercise and cancer have been conducted with women with early stage breast cancer , limiting the generalizability of these studies to other cancer population s. The purpose of this systematic review is to provide a synthesis of the extant research evidence about th e benefits of exercise related to cancer recovery