Even in North America diseases such as cancer often disrupt or cut short the lives of otherwise healthy people. Exercising also empowers cancer patients and long-term survivors and gives them a sense of control and identity. I spoke recently with Don McKenzie, MD, PhD, a professor of sport medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, about his work with women who have breast cancer. You lose control. The two ways cancer patients regain some control is through their diet and through exercise.
Physical activity helps to offset the physical side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
McKenzie feels that cancer rehabilitation is where cardiac rehabilitation was 25 years ago, but that this situation will change because patients are demanding it. The correct dose-response relationships haven't been worked out. But the sports medicine physician is in the position to answer the call from these patients. This has held true across a range of cancer types and patient ages. Despite the growing evidence, however, most cancer patients are not counseled by their physicians to exercise.