Guest Blog by David Haas - Cancer and Healthy Lifestyle

Exercise as a Natural Treatment for Cancer

By Guest Blogger David Haas

(Note From Blog Owner- Bev, aka Hockeygal4ever)

As a 6x cancer survivor I felt David's request to "Guest Blog" helped to serve my purpose in helping those who may be facing the same factors I've faced in life. The changes I've made in eating habits came about with literally years of work and trials & errors. 

I finally became a part of a program called Fat Loss Ignition which has taught me not only how to slowly change my way of eating, easily but has also helped me ease into a more "Clean Eating" lifestyle. The first step is changing habits, then changing those habits to be even better choices based on amazing facts. The program has recently been introduced to the public and I highly recommend checking it out. My sweetie has lost 85 lbs and kept it off eating the recipes from the Fat Loss Ignition (F.L.I.) Program and I've utilized the program to make huge changes that turbo boosted my weight losses once again after nearly a year of standing still.  Together he and I have lost over 200 lbs!!!!!! The FLI Program is a realistic approach to eating so your body literally runs at its most efficient, creating a healthier you. I've beaten cancer and I KNOW that this change in eating style and lifestyle has been an important factor. So please enjoy the information David has provided and if you or someone you know is dealing with cancer, take charge and change your lifestyle for the best. Only YOU can make a difference, one day at a time!

For the many who have been diagnosed with cancer, words like exercise and fitness are the furthest things from their mind. Newly diagnosed patients have enough on their mind as they try to understand a plethora of complicated terminology, such as mesothelioma, depression and anxiety, to be too overly concerned with making lifestyle changes. Most conventional doctors lose interest in encouraging patients to make lifestyle changes once they have cancer. A majority of their focus now is on radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. In fact, mesothelioma doctors wouldn't even bother to try to convince a person to quit smoking if they have lung cancer, knowing full well that cigarettes likely caused the cancer in the first place.

According to the National Cancer Institute, regular physical activity plays a fundamental role in improving the quality of life. Regular exercise is also a critical component of energy balance. Energy balance is a term used to describe the complex relationship of diet, weight and physical activity has on health, which also includes the risk of cancer. In recent years, evidence has grown to support the role of exercise during all stages of cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy is frequently associated with side effects, such as anemia and fatigue, which can make a person feel very tired. But, it is very important to remain as physically active as possible. The combination of rest and diminished physical activity leads to loss of function, which can aggravate the symptoms of cancer, such as nausea, fatigue and depression. In addition, prolonged bed rest leads to muscle loss and painful joints which in turn can lead to decreased mobility. In most cases, the person will not be able to perform simple tasks, such as sitting up or walking, after only weeks of bed rest. A combination of gentle stretching helps relax painful joints and muscles, so they can be exercised and strengthened. Mild to moderate amounts of exercise can rebuild loss muscle mass. The positive effects of exercise do not end with building muscle. Researchers have found that exercise has been shown to help improve a cancer prognosis; increase survival rates and lowers the incidence of a relapse.

Over 50 studies on colorectal cancer have been conducted to explore the protective mechanisms of exercise. It's believed that exercise protects the body against colon cancer through its role in hormone metabolism, energy balance, insulin regulation and by decreasing intestinal transit time. The greatest magnitude of protective effects has been shown to be the strongest in high intensity activity. It's estimated that between 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise daily is all that is required to protect a person colon cancer. In the pre-cancer stage, individuals who exercise in moderate amounts have been known to help reduce their risk of developingcolorectal cancer by as much as 40 percent in comparison to those living a sedentary lifestyle, regardless of body mass index (BMI). Other studies have also found that regular physical activity not only reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by 25 to 30 percent, exercise has also been found to have an inhibitory effect on cancer cell growth.

The American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism found that regular exercise helped release humeral factors from working muscles. These humeral factors are rich in myokines, which play a valuable role in immune response. The myokines are found in high concentrations after exercise, and have been shown to have an effect in slowing down the growth of cancerous cells in breast tissue. This is a strong indicator that women who exercised regularly receiving cancer treatment were more likely to survive and recover, than women who were sedentary. Even more surprising, these findings were unaffected by the level of physical fitness of the women before receiving cancer treatment.

Regardless of what cancer has affected a person's life, a personalized and consistent exercise regime has been shown to have significant effects on promoting recovery and preventing relapse. Endurance training from exercise plays an important role in managing the symptoms associated with cancer, and in the recovery of people following treatment. A recent report investigating the relationship between cancer and exercise, found that regular exercise after cancer treatment helped recovery physical function, as well as reduced the risk of cancer relapse and the mortality rate of some cancers. In addition, this study also found that physical activity further reduced the risk of developing other long-term conditions.

Thanks David! You have given my readers some excellent information and places to check out regarding healthy lifestyle and cancer. There is NO question that the two are tightly linked. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on David's guest blog with us! 

Don't forget to check out the program that has changed both and saved the life of both myself and the love of my life... by losing over 200lbs. together so far!

Fat Loss Ignition

Check out the video that explains how easy it is to change your body to lose weight EASILY and not "DIET" but truly change your lifestyle and eat normal foods.