(Guest Post) Fitting In Fitness by David Haas

This post is my blog's first ever guest post entry by David Haas who is member in a cancer support group and awareness program advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance.

Just about everyone knows that physical fitness is good for the body. Fewer people know that it is also good for the mind and soul. Even fewer people know that only 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise is enough to keep them physically fit and reduce their risk of certain types of cancer by as much as 40 percent; this is in addition to their lowered risk of other potential diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. People that are already suffering from cancer, even the rare forms of cancer, such as mesothelioma, can benefit from moderate exercise for 150 minutes each week. 

In the past, doctors encouraged their cancer patients to rest and reserve their energy. That has changed drastically in the past few years; more and more doctors and encouraging cancer patients to get up and get active to make them feel better as they undergo cancer treatments. The reason for this is that fitness makes people feel better about themselves; it also helps to decrease the side effects that are often associated with cancer treatments. A person that exercises regularly will experience less vomiting, less nausea and less fatigue from the cancer treatments being put into their bodies than someone that does not get regular physical fitness into their daily routine. 

Furthermore, fitness can help to improve a cancer patient’s quality of life in other ways. Exercise produces endorphins that eliminate the negative hormones from a person’s body that are hindering their immune system. This helps the immune system to build back up to its healthy level, which makes it respond better to cancer treatments. Fitness also improves mood. A person that exercises is more likely to feel happy and positive than someone that does not exercise. Fitness is an all around great method of making a person feel good; it helps the body look better and become stronger, it helps improve health and it helps a person feel happy and confident. All of these are important in terms of fighting cancer.

Those that don’t like to work out shouldn’t worry; 150 minutes a week of physical fitness can be anything moderate, from walking to jogging to swimming and even biking. Just over 21 minutes per day will have a person reaching their optimum level of health in no time. The best way to get fit is for people to pick something they enjoy doing, such as rollerblading or playing football. The more a person enjoys the activity in which he or she is participating, the more he or she will participate and the healthier that person will become. There is no wrong way to get fit; the only thing wrong is choosing not to get fit. 

About David Haas 

David Haas is a cancer support group and awareness program advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. In addition to researching the many valuable programs available to our site’s visitors, David often blogs about programs and campaigns underway at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, as well as creative fitness ideas for those dealing with cancer, while creating relationships with similar organizations. 

http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/david/bio.htm