First, it is important to realize what the body has been through and the many side effects that come along with treatment. It is extremely important to talk with your physician before beginning an exercise program. Ask about any precautions and recommendations they might have for you. Each person’s body responds differently and it is important to listen to what your body tells you. For example, if you have had lymph node removal, you will likely have a weight restriction on your surgical side. Recent research has discussed how to progress your program after lymph node dissection. This is very common and can be accommodated with the proper precautions. Many survivors have more sensitive joints post-treatment due to treatment as well as hormone replacement therapy. It is important to see how you feel as you start and progress through your exercise. Even with these concerns, the benefits still dramatically outweigh the risks of not exercising.

Second, the most challenging aspects of an exercise program are to know what you should do and shouldn’t do, making time, and finding the energy. Long gone are the days of hours of cardio at a gym and lifting on weight machines.  It is important to find exercises that are fun, convenient, and focus more on stability muscles and core.  You can exercise anywhere, and throughout the day. If the benefits are important enough, you can fit exercise into your schedule. It is also important to understand that moderation is the key. Exercising too intensely will cause additional fatigue and not intense enough will delay the needed benefits.

Stress Reduction

Exercise helps to produce endorphins which elevate mood. Physical exercise not only promotes overall fitness, but it helps you to manage emotional stress and tension as well. For one thing, exercise can emotionally remove one temporarily from a stressful environment or situation. Being fit and healthy also increases your ability to deal with stress as it arises

Improved Sleep Patterns

Regular exercise is shown to help you sleep. Researchers at the Mayo clinic have found that moderate exercise at least three hours before bedtime can help you relax and sleep better at night.

Improved Mood, Less Depression

Exercise causes the brain to release endorphins, which are opium-like substances that ease pain and produce a sense of comfort and euphoria. It also encourages the nerve cells in the brain to secrete other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, which improve general feeling. Deficiencies of these hormones and enzymes have been linked to symptoms of depression, anxiety, impulsivity, aggression and increased appetite. Researchers found that when depressed patients exercise, they are actually able to increase their levels of these natural antidepressants, according to the results of a new study reported in the American Medical Association’s Archives of Internal Medicine