Although most experts agree that battling breast cancer may be a woman’s biggest ordeal, fighting it isn’t the only problem–the long term consequences it has on a woman’s body, hair, and bones can also be devastating.
For instance, breast cancer can make a woman’s bones brittle, putting them at an increased risk for bone fractures and osteopenia.
But now a new study presented at the American Institute for Cancer Research says there’s a new way to combat bone loss caused by breast cancer–exercise more.
“Women who are completing cancer therapy should be getting a strong prescription for health promotion, which includes aerobic-resistance exercise,” says M. Tish Knobf, a professor from the Yale School of Medicine. “Routine exercise improves muscle strength, balance, quality of life, mood, functional ability and cardiovascular status, and may minimize the risk of bone loss.”
What The Study Discovered
Stopping breast cancer has a double whammy on your health–while inhibiting the hormone estrogen can stop breast cancer from growing, it also increases bone loss since bones depend on this hormone to form healthy bones.
To make matters worse, chemotherapy causes many women to enter menopause early, which also robs them of healthy, dense bone matter.
And stopping this from happening was the goal of researchers who presented their findings in Bethesda, Maryland, at an annual meeting held by the American Institute for Cancer Research, an American research organization partnered with the World Cancer Research Fund.
“Patients with breast cancer and several other cancers are at increased risk of rapid bone loss and fractures,” says Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University. “While not sufficient to prevent bone loss when taken alone, calcium and vitamin D are very important components of any pharmacologic regimen to minimise [sic] bone loss.”
To study what else may minimize bone loss in breast cancer survivors, researchers studied a group of breast cancer survivors to see how two exercise regimens affected their bone loss. During the 12 months, researchers observed the women as they either engaged in a resistance exercise program or stayed moderately physically active for 30 minutes a day.
After the 12 months elapsed, the results were great for those who stuck with a resistance training program–researchers say that they showed the hugest improvements in heart, metabolic, and bone health. They also had more muscle mass and less fat mass, two key factors that can boost a woman’s overall health.
“Our current study suggests that endocrine therapy after breast cancer influences bone loss and exercise may minimize the predicted rates of bone loss with adjuvant therapy,” says Knobf. “Not every provider tells these women they are at increased risk of bone loss and this is the time survivors need to be aware. If you can prevent or minimize how much bone is lost with exercise, that would be powerful.”
Recommendation? If you’re recovering from breast cancer, eating well isn’t enough–adding resistance training to your daily regimen can help fight the bone loss that often comes with intensive breast cancer treatment.
Readers: Do you do resistance training? Why or why not?
Sources:
Breast Cancer and Bone Loss Improved by Exercise – AICR.org
Exercise Battles Bone Loss in Breast Cancer Survivors – Health24.com
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