[2021-06-04] Active
Yesterday, a colleague challenged me to share a photo or video showing me engaged in physical activity, as part of an active movement initiative within the Government of Canada (#GCActive). So on my morning walk today, my daughter—who had, conveniently, taken the day off work—took my photo.
It wasn't hard to accept the challenge, which is to be active for at least 21 minutes every day in 2021. My route takes an hour.
More than just a nice-to-do, my walk is an integral part of my cancer recovery. Both the Canadian Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society advocate exercise for cancer patients.
On its Being active page, the Canadian Cancer Society notes the many ways that being active both during and after cancer treatment can help one's body and mind. Exercise can improve sleep and appetite, lower blood pressure, lessen stress and anxiety, reduce side effects such as nausea and fatigue, boost self esteem and improve quality of life.
Additional benefits listed by the American Cancer Society on its Physical Activity and the Cancer Patient page include the following: maintain or enhance physical abilities, improve balance and lower the potential of falls, help control weight, and lessen the risks of heart disease, osteoporosis and depression.
In addition to its benefits to overall health and quality of life, "physical activity...may even help some people live longer," says the American Cancer Society. "There’s some evidence that getting to and staying at a healthy weight, eating right, and being physically active may help reduce the risk of a second cancer as well as other serious chronic diseases," it states, while acknowledging that more research is needed to confirm these possible benefits. It elaborates:
A growing number of studies have looked at the impact of physical activity on cancer recurrence and long-term survival. (Cancer recurrence is cancer that comes back after treatment.) Exercise has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, body composition, fatigue, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, happiness, and several quality of life factors in cancer survivors. At least 20 studies of people with breast, colorectal, prostate, and ovarian cancer have suggested that physically active cancer survivors have a lower risk of cancer recurrence and improved survival compared with those who are inactive. Randomized clinical trials are still needed to better define the impact of exercise on such outcomes.
It's not difficult to choose to be physically active knowing that it helps me live a better life today and may even improve the length and quality of my life tomorrow.
Beyond continuing a challenge person by person, the #GCActive movement initiative serves as inspiration for all of us to find ways of sneaking exercise into our day; for example, you can divide the 30 minutes of daily recommended physical activity into three 10-minute sessions by, for example, making appointments in your calendar for 10-minute walking breaks. The American Cancer Society's Physical Activity and the Cancer Patient page provides useful tips for anyone looking to incorporate more movement into their day.
