David,

Studies prove that getting up and just walking during radiation helps alleviate fatigue. That was good enough for me! Plus, I would have been bored out of my skull and beyond frustrated if I hadn't gotten up, walked and cared for my animals.

Fact is everyone is different, every situation is different and making blanket statements regarding whether someone should or should not exercise during treatment is idiocy. People are beginning to sound like ignorant medical professionals on this thread or worse yet, physical therapists and personal trainers.

The American Cancer Society has pointed to several studies that show the psychological and physical benefits of exercise during treatment...notably decreased fatigue and improved sense of well being. However depending on what medications a patient is on and the side effects they may be experiencing, exercise wouldn't be recommended.

Let's take for example if you are on a duralgesic patch medicine delivery system that is heat activated. Raising your body tempature results in the release of more medication into your blood stream and potentially harming you when the spike in medication hits you after working through your skin to your bloodstream.

Or for example you are on high doses of pain meds like many of us have experienced...even walking without assistance can be tricky and potentially dangerous. I had a goal to exercise throughout treatment as I was an exercise fanatic precancer. Try exercising on 200mcg/hr of fentanyl and 60mg of oxycodone for breakthrough pain...even walking was difficult.

Working closely with the head of a patients medical team is the best advice anyone could give...let the medical professional that is most familiar with a patients treatment and overall wellbeing be the judge as to whether exercise is appropriate or not.

Deb,

That's Mr Nucklehead to you!

Eric, Margaret, Angelia and everyone else,

I wasn't talking about moving around the house and I wasn't talking about any other cancer Tx other than what we typically have to endure. I was merely pointing out I just don't see any logic to exercising, however mildly, when we are in the throws of our brutal and barbaric Tx. I tried to consume 2000 cals a day during Tx and I lost a tremendous amount of weight like everyone else, I consumed 3000 cals a day post Tx for over a year and I didn't gain a pound so my logic tells me that my body was really working behind the scenes in overtime and I just don't see the overall benefit to add any more stress to it.

Certainly I'm not a Biophysicist or whatever someone might be called that could really answer this question but that's just my thinking.

Re this COLD crap we have here....the news reported this am that's it's the worse cold snap we have had in 25 years. So my question to Al G is WHERE EXACTLY IS THIS GLOBAL WARMING????

Not surprisingly, I'm in solidarity with DavidCPA & EricS on this one. My exercise routine was intensive, 7 days a week, before TX. During TX, walking from the couch to the car to go to radiation was quite enough thank you. Now I am back at the gym, even though I have this damn PEG tube. If you were in shape before TX, you can get back in shape easily. If you were not in shape before, you are just like most of the doctors. Either way, exercise during TX is optional IMO,
Charm

You exercise freaks are not reading these posts correctly. NOBODY has suggested anyone go out for any EXERCISE to burn calories and raise heart rate or any of that crap. We are talking a leisurely stroll from point a to point b to keep the muscles moving and get your bum out of bed while you still have the energy. The fact that your might do it in the park or some other place in the fresh air might improve your spirits, although not in this weather.

And noone even remotely suggested that stage 4 or even 2 cancer is the same as breaking a bone, but the muscle loss from totaly inactivity can be the same and it can take months of PT or exercise to regain that muscle. You just don't want to stay in bed 20 hours a day out of boredom. This treatemt will eventually put you there. Don't go there until you have to.

Eileen

I think we have gotten a bit far from the original question. Teresa was not letting Andy do anything, even when he wanted to. The doctor said he should do some walking.

This is a far cry from exercising; it is just a bit of physical activity every day at a level the patient can tolerate. I think her basic question was do you just stay in bed for the duration, or can you get up and about if you feel up to it?

The answer looks to be that it's not going to hurt and may help if you get up and about a bit every day at a level you feel you can comfortably tolerate.

Eric�s point is well taken also. The level of medication you are taking may heavily influence what you chose to do or not to do.

Kelly

Thank you Kelly. It seems this could develope into a rift on here which we in no way need. We are here to heelp each each other and understand that we are all diffenert and are composed of different thoughts and ideas. Be nice friends to each other. It just so happens that what I did helped me and might kill someone else. Don't want that for sure.

Jim, what are you talking about?? Everyone has been nice...there is no rift here...just a conversation from varying points of view. I hope you know that I called David "knucklehead" because.....well, he is one

We are all on the same team here...no worries.

Deb

Deb I agree with the Knucklehead name LOL even if he is pretty intelligent and likeable.

Hey....this is turning into a David bashing post!!! I would rather have a rift than a me bashing. JM2C's