Our guest blog comes from David Haas, who has written several features on the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog. David is an advocate of mesothelioma awareness, treatment and prevention.
Exercise and Coping With Cancer
When you are dealing with cancer, for example mesothelioma, no matter what form or stage of treatment you happen to be in, it has been found that increasing your fitness level is something that you can do to improve your situation. While becoming more fit is not a cure for cancer, it has been shown that it can help prevent cancer, that it can increase the success rate of the treatment and that it can prevent the recursion of cancer. The National Cancer Institute reports that increased physical activity has a strong circumstantial role in the fight against cancer. However, what do you do if you have never exercised before or if the cancer treatments have you feeling tired all the time?
First, don’t be ashamed. There are plenty of people who have never exercised before. After all, no one is born knowing how to exercise. This is something that can make a huge difference in your life, but if you don’t have the training, you won’t necessarily know where to start. The positive side of the equation, however, is that it is entirely possible to learn how to exercise. For example, if you are thinking about belly dancing, you can simply start by watching videos online. This is a terrific way to get started at no cost to yourself.
Remember that exercise, like anything else, becomes much more easy when you make it into a habit. Exercising is irritating in many cases. You have to wear special clothes, you get tired and sweaty, and then you have to clean up afterward. This is something that can make people more adverse to the idea. However, you will find that if you can force yourself through your workout every day, you are going to be in a great place to make it into a habit for yourself.
If you are a family caregiver of someone with mesothelioma orr other form of cancer, you can encourage your loved one to start exercising by being their workout partner. Start small, and work toward a goal together.
You may also be concerned about falling, getting hurt or becoming overly exhausted when you exercise. You can trust a family or professional caregiver to help and monitor your health as you continue your fitness regimen.
Exercise is not easy, but remember that it will get easier over time. The first time you do a workout, you may end up discouraged, tired and unconvinced that it is going to help you. Think about where you want to go with your treatment and all the things that exercise can do for you. This is something that you are doing for yourself, and in the end, it is going to be entirely worth it to put the commitment towards this process.
Choose an exercise program that interests you and that gets you out. Unless you are feeling terribly shy, your exercise can put you in a significantly better place with regards to outside contact. While some people do badly with social situations, other people like to welcome the challenge of working out with other people around. You never know when you are going to make a friend out of an exercise buddy, so be welcoming and find someone who is after the same things in a workout that you are.
Exercise can be a huge part of your life, and it is a good choice if you are dealing with cancer in some way. Consider what it can do for you and try exercising today!
