Wednesday, 28 September 2016 06:59 Exercise is key to fighting, helping prevent cancer Written by Dee Jetton
Team Gayle: From left, Mike Lippard, Gayle Olenik and LaKeisha McAuley. Courtesy Nelson Bynum/HFFA
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Gayle Roberts Olenik has already beaten the odds. She’s surpassed a remarkable four-year anniversary in her battle with a rare form of overian cancer. Last week, after completing a slew of tests required to enter an immunotherapy clinical trial, her doctor told her, “You won’t be able to join the trial at this time.”
Accustomed to hearing difficult news, she waited. Then he said, “It’s time to celebrate Gayle. Your scans are clear. You’re in remission.” Trained to stay battle-ready, she asked the doctor what she could do to keep fighting. No surprise to Gayle, she said, “Exercise. A lot.”
Results of 12 pooled studies, involving 1.4 million people, recently published in Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, supports the theory regular exercise reduces cancer risk by 7-38 percent depending on cancer type. Benefits of regular exercise include reducing inflammation, improving production of antioxidants and enhanced immune function. These are all considered important in successful treatment and reduction of side effects.
While more research is needed to fully understand the impact exercise has on survivorship, exercise is generally recommended as a key component of a treatment plan. The American Cancer Society recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week or 75 minutes of higher intensity exercise — or some combination of the two — to help ward off cancer. Diagnosed patients should work under physician and exercise physiologist guidance to insure positive outcomes.
The proof is in the pudding for patients and team members in the Novant Health-Huntersville Cancer Rehabilitation Program. Working at the Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatics Center, Mike Lippard, clinical exercise physiologist says, “Exercise plays a critical role in survivorship. It helps reduce fatigue if performed in the right dose.”
Novant’s Strides to Strength medical fitness program is designed to assist those preparing for, enduring and recovering from cancer treatment. Clients and patients interact with exercise physiologists and registered nurses while they exercise.
“Carefully constructed exercise and assessment protocols insure a safe and effective process for each patient” says Lippard. The program also provides access to a registered dietitian who helps craft an individualized nutrition strategy.
“The medical fitness program at Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics has given me the knowledge and confidence to make exercise a critical part of my recovery,” says Olenik, adding that people she sits with during treatment often ask how she does it. “They say they are too tired to exercise during treatment. I’ve learned to ignore the negative voice of fatigue and get to the gym anyway. I feel so much better when I do.”
Among the benefits, she says, is camaraderie and common ground she finds with the other fitness enthusiasts. “The social benefits are invaluable and they keep my spirits high,” says Olenik.
LaKeisha McAuley, RN, BSN and community nurse educator working in the program, says, “Fatigue is common, making accountability critical.” McAuley adds that being part of a group helps patients get moving even when they don’t feel up to it. “You don’t want to push too hard but it is critical to move. It helps offset side-effects and keeps your body strong to fight. In my experience, those who exercise are more likely to have the perseverance needed to fight the good fight and win.”
