How Mental and Physical Fitness Affects Cancer Treatment
- While no specialized diet has been found to fight cancer, it’s always a good idea to maintain a moderate diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as fats and proteins
- Patients who are more physically fit may experience fewer side effects from treatment
- Rather than focusing on physical fitness alone, patients and their loved ones should also aim to beef up their emotional fitness, mitigating stress with the help of a professional, if necessary
"In terms of cancer, oftentimes patients feel that they don’t have any control over any part of their life and that’s not true," Dr. Sairah Ahmed, associate professor in the division of cancer medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.
Read MoreWhat's the Best Diet for People With Cancer?
Dr. Ahmed tells SurvivorNet that none of the gimmicky diets are useful for cancer-fighting. Instead, the goal is simply to consume nutritious foods. "I’m asked about keto diets, alkaline diets, no-sugar diets," she says. "Often I will tell patients there is not any one diet that has a better potential to keep their cancer away. There’s no data that shows that any of those help to treat cancer any better." But it's important, she says, for people with cancer to avoid losing weight during chemotherapy. "You want to have a moderate diet where you’re including lots of fruits and vegetables but you’re still eating fat and protein and you want to maintain physical exercise," she says.Fitness and Stress Control for People With Cancer
Dr. Ahmed explains that keeping as fit as possible can help people with cancer as they prepare for treatment.
"The more physically fit you are going through your cancer treatment, the less side effects you’ll have and the faster you’ll get back to your normal quality of life," she says.
Far from just physical fitness, Dr. Ahmed emphasizes the importance of emotional strength both for patients and their loved ones. “Stress control is often something that is not talked about and is not given much weight, but there is a lot of stress, both in terms of the patient who’s going through cancer, as well as the family who has to support that patient," she says.
Of course, there are health worries. But there are so many more challenging factors to tackle, too. "There's financial stress, there’s emotional stress, and being able to deal with that as well as talk to professionals when you need it, is very important," she says. "Staying on cancer treatment is the one thing that will help to cure your disease, and if you are so sad or so overwhelmed that that doesn’t happen, then you’re actually going to compromise your cancer treatment."
She recommends preparing for stress and seeking professional support if needed as a key piece of preparing for cancer treatment.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.