Exercise

One of the most potent cancer-fighting weapons is exercise. Several studies have shown that physical activity is linked with decreased risk of some cancers, particularly breast and colon cancer. People who followed healthy lifestyle habits, including exercising for more than 30 minutes daily, lowered their risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study published online in October in the British Medical Journal.

A study of 45 peer-reviewed articles published from January 1950 to August 2011 shows that exercisers are less likely to die of their cancers than non-exercisers. In addition, observational studies strongly showed that exercise is associated with reduced death from breast and colon cancers specifically.[1] Those who exercised were also less likely to die from other diseases such as heart attacks.

A second study, from the Netherlands, showed that cancer survivors who exercised had far more energy, were far more active, and were less tired than survivors who did not exercise. Exercising simply gives them more energy.

According to Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support,“Cancer patients would be shocked if they knew just how much of a benefit physical activity could have on their recovery and long term health, in some cases reducing their chances of having to go through the grueling ordeal of treatment all over again.”

One in four adults worldwide doesn’t get enough exercise, putting “more than 1.4 billion adults at risk of developing or exacerbating diseases linked to inactivity,” a new study says. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, urges careful attention to the “three-legged stool” of excess weight, poor diet and inadequate physical activity, which together are linked to between a quarter to a third of cancer cases.

For patients who have gone through breast or colon cancer treatment, regular exercise has been found to reduce recurrence of the disease by up to 50%. A study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management found that patients who exercised regularly before their diagnosis were more likely to keep up their routines afterwards. Being thinner helps beat breast cancer: Risks of disease returning rises in step with weight.

According to Dr. Lee Jones, “Fitness levels before surgery will predict your risk of surgical complications as well as following surgery. Now we have data suggesting that your fitness levels pre-surgery may also predict how long lung patients may live beyond traditional markers of longevity.”

According to Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, “Cancer patients would be shocked if they knew just how much of a benefit physical activity could have on their recovery and long term health, in some cases reducing their chances of having to go through the grueling ordeal of treatment all over again.”

For cancer patients who can still exercise the very best way to use exercise as a powerful treatment option is to use Exercise with Oxygen Therapy (EWOT). The beauty of any EWOT system is that it combines exercise with oxygen. Combining two important cancer therapies into one makes perfect sense if you can use a treadmill, standing bicycle, a rowing machine or even a jumper to get one’s heart rate up. (Write me or sign up for fifteen minute free consultation to review different options and companies of EWOT)

For cancer patients oxygen is a powerful treatment option because, as we shall see in later chapters, low oxygen delivery to cells is one of the main causes of cancer. Cancer hates high levels of oxygen because it brings life not death. Oxygen makes cancer cells weak and less resistant to treatment. Cancer cells low in oxygen are three times more resistant to chemo and radiotherapy.

There is a special form of EWOT called contrast or high altitude training where you have the option of going between high and low oxygen (hypoxia) each of which stimulates different kinds of immune cells that get pumped up to attack cancer cells. It is more expensive than basic EWOT but for those who do not have tight budgets it is worth it.

When we exercise we get more oxygen because we produce an avalanche of carbon dioxide, which needs to get eliminated by faster breathing. In the next section (Part Two) directly below, we find cancer patients breathing way to fast eliminating too much CO2, which reduces oxygen delivery to the cells. Oxygen and CO2 are the perfect yin yang pair that work together. Both are necessary health and medical gases that bring life and healing.

The American College of Sports Medicine released a report that advised cancer patients to avoid inactivity. The organization further stated that physical exercise is safe during and after most types of cancer treatments. Recent research indicates that while regular exercise will not cure cancer, it can help you recover faster from the disease. Add oxygen (EWOT) and then its one of the most powerful cancer treatments one can employ.

[1] Natl Cancer Inst, published online May 8, 2012