Fitness and Cancer

I've been keeping a journal of my father's condition. He was diagnosed with colon cancer two years ago. He had metastises to the liver and now the left chest wall. He has had two major surgeries as well as chemo and radiation. There has not been any lymph node involvement.
While his first reaction to treatment is to rest cause the condition and treatment causes fatigue, it seems that the more he moves, the better he feels and the more energy he has.

Life/energy in the human body is similar to the battery in a car. When the battery runs out of energy, the car cannot function or move. In the body, it takes energy for everything to function. The lower our energy, the slower we function. When we have a dead battery in our car, we have to get it charged then drive the car around to recharge the battery. Same thing with the body, we have to get up and move around to get more energy. It becomes even more important in my father's case to move around. This way the lymphatic system works better and the body can process the chemoradiation to hopefully also reduce side effects of treatment.

Besides the physical benefits of exercise during cancer treatments, there are also many phsychological and emotional benefits. Exercise stimulates the "feel good" endorphins which are mood elevators. There is also the feeling of "self-nurturing" and accomplishment.
Since cancer and the treatments can be debilitating, when a person can exercise, it helps to bring back the feeling of self-worth.

Exercise videos/dvds such involving stretching like the Brian Dorfman Lower Back Basics or Leslie Sansone's Yoga would be useful for a person with cancer and undergoing chemo and/or radiation. The videos also allow for relaxation and bring about the mind/body connection.
http://www.myfitness24-7.com/
Cecelia Tiemann, D.C.