Preventing Breast Cancer – Exercise

Exercise. It’s great. There are so many proven benefits that can be gained from exercising regularly. As promised we are going to focus on breast cancer during the month of October, and it just so happens that exercise can be an important factor in preventing breast cancer, and even in recovering from breast cancer. To me, this is good news. Exercise is affordable and accessible to most everyone! It is not an expensive pill, you don’t have to have insurance, and it will produce other benefits beyond preventing breast cancer. Exercise may take more work on your part, but hopefully keeping yourself healthy is important enough to you.  

It is important to note, however, that not all forms of exercise have been shown to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. A study done by the National Cancer Institute found that moderate or easy exercise did not decrease a person’s risk of developing breast cancer. Only vigorous exercise was shown to decrease risk.

The NCI study reported that women who exercised the most had a 22% decreased risk of developing breast cancer. It has not been proven that this decreased risk was solely due to exercise, but there is definitely enough evidence that experts believe exercise offers some protection. Higher levels of estrogen have been shown to contribute to the development of breast cancer, and other forms of cancer. Exercise can help regulate estrogen, and other hormones which may provide some protection.

Not only has exercise been applauded in preventing breast cancer, many times it is recommended for those recovering from breast cancer. Exercise has many physiological and physical benefits that can help make recovery easier. Cancer patients who used exercise as a treatment experienced many benefits. Those include fat loss, a decrease in nausea and fatigue, higher self-esteem, and better quality of life.

Exercise is a great option whether you are a survivor, or just trying to prevent breast cancer and other forms of cancer. If you’re not sure where to get started, a few session with a certified personal trainer can give you the information you need. To find a certified personal trainer in Utah Valley just take a look at our Directory page.

You can find the whole study discussed in this post in the 2009 Oct. 31 online issue of the open-access journal Breast Cancer Research.