Blog

Exercise and Prostate Cancer

Published: 22 Nov 2016

Did you know 22,000 men are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in Australia annually?  Sadly, 3,000 men die of this disease every year, with more men dying of Prostate cancer than women dying of breast cancer. Advances in diagnosis and treatment have lead to 5-year survival rates approaching 100%. This means men with prostate cancer are living longer but with a degree of impaired quality of life due to side effects from treatments, including new diseases.

There is strong evidence that exercise can be used as management, during and after treatment, to minimise the harmful effects of treatment and improve health and well being.

Exercise is an important additional therapy after prostate cancer diagnosis to help:

• reduce the symptoms; e.g. cancer related fatigue
• lessen side effects or radiation and drug therapies
• increase survival rate
• slow down the rate of bone loss (osteopenia and osteoporosis),
  • decreased risk of bone fractures; especially in the spine and hip
• reverse muscle loss (sarcopenia)
  • improve associated reduction in strength and power
• reverse increased body fat; especially from the abdominal section
• prevent/manage chronic diseases; such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes
  • these conditions are possible side effects to the cancer treatments, especially hormone replacement therapies.
  • exercise reduces blood pressure, can prevent and control blood glucose (sugar) levels
• improve quality of life
  • increased ability to perform activities of daily living
  • improve psychological wellness

Like a lot of other cancers, recent research has found that strength training for men in this population have shown to have positive effects on both the disease and the side effects of the medication taken to slow and cure prostate cancer.

As prostate cancer is a chronic disease, speak with your doctor about exercise being apart of your management plan, or call us for more information.