A new study shows that tiredness faced by cancer patients, especially during treatment can be reduced by exercising.
Tiredness and fatigue are two common side effects of cancer treatment. The feelings can go on for months after the treatment. Researchers found dealing with the issue is extremely important because prolonged feelings of tiredness can break a person's willpower to carry on with the treatment. A new study found that exercise is a good way of dealing with the fatigue.
The study was conducted on a total of 4,068 people across 56 studies. Most of these people had breast cancer. It was found that patients with solid tumors improved their health conditions from aerobic exercise, such as walking or cycling, both during and after cancer treatment. Other forms of exercise, including resistance training, did not significantly reduce fatigue.
"The evidence suggests that exercise may help reduce cancer-related fatigue and should therefore be considered as one component of a strategy for managing fatigue that may include a range of other interventions and education," said lead researcher Fiona Cramp of the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK. "This updated review provides a more precise conclusion, showing specifically that aerobic exercise, both during and after cancer treatment, can be beneficial."
Cramp was quick to add that further study is required on the matter so researchers can define the frequency and types of exercise that most benefits patients.
"Twenty eight of the studies we included were carried out in breast cancer patients, so we need to know more about how exercise can help people with a broad range of diagnoses, including patients with advanced disease," Cramp saud.
UK's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme funded the research
