From the first moment my wife discovered she
had breast cancer in March of 2011, there was a deafening silence from the men
I knew. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed
to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little
more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason,
I started this blog…That was four years ago – as time passed, people searching
for answers stumbled across my blog and checked out what I had to say. The following
entry first appeared in April 2012…
Doctors harp on
exercise.
Despite the
harping – or in my case, perversely because
of it – I avoid exercise like the plague.
Even so, as I read
more and more sites promoting the “exercise makes you better if you have breast
cancer” meme, I found that almost none of them give any kind of evidence as to
WHY exercise fights cancer and promotes healing.
So I dug into the
sites and finally found some evidence supporting this wild, “Do this one weird
thing…” kind of meme. This week, it’s number:
1)
Physical
activity may decrease risk for various cancers by improving immune function
I was a biology
major in college – not because I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. Not
because I loved animals. I was a bio major because I loved LIFE! (No, not THAT
kind of life. I hated crazy parties with drunken young adults wandering around,
trying to shout over obnoxiously loud music and the inevitable whiff of various
and sundry “recreational substances” in use. Thanks, but no thanks…) I loved
diatoms and dinosaurs; liver flukes and lilies;
Euglena and elephantiasis...I didn’t have FUN with it always, but I
loved it.
One of the “basic”
classes I took was Immunology. I still have the text in my basement library.
Published in 1978, it has absolutely NO mention of Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome – what we call AIDS. In fact, Immunology was an ELECTIVE class any bio
major could take. No one HAD to take it because, after all, while interesting,
the immune system wasn’t all THAT important in the broad sweep of things...
“The immune system
is
a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that
protects against disease. In order to function properly, an immune system must
detect a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and
distinguish them from the organism's own healthy tissue... [the system
includes] enzymes, phagocytosis (cells that eat other cells – the white blood
cell in particular), antimicrobial peptides (molecules that kill microscopic
creatures), and the complement system (a biochemical cascade that attacks the
surfaces of foreign cells – one you might know is “histamine” – most of you reading this have at some
time or another taken Benadryl®,
which is an ANTI-histamine) as well as the well-known antibodies that zap very
particular body invaders and the ability to adapt over time to recognize specific
pathogens more efficiently.”
So how does
exercise “boost” the immune system?
“Moderate exercise has been linked to a positive immune system response and
a temporary boost in the production of the cells that attack bacteria (like
wbcs)...there are physiological changes in the immune system as a response to
exercise...immune cells circulate through the body more quickly and are better
able to kill bacteria and viruses...consistent, regular exercise seems to make
these changes a bit more long-lasting...when moderate exercise is repeated on a
near-daily basis there is a cumulative effect that leads to a long-term immune
response...those who walk [vigorously] for 40 minutes per day had half as many
sick days due to colds or sore throats as those who don't exercise.”
And how does this relate to breast cancer?
“Exercise pumps up the
immune system and lowers estrogen levels. With as little as four hours of
exercise per week, a woman can begin to lower her risk of breast cancer.”
“You’ll be able to maintain a healthy
weight. Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight by
building muscle and burning fat... fat cells make estrogen; extra fat cells
mean more estrogen in the body and estrogen can make hormone-receptor-positive
breast cancers develop and grow.”
Lastly: “Compared with the other women in the study, the women in the exercise
group also boosted their number of activated T cells, made more lymphocytes,
and lowered their levels of an inflammatory marker (a kind of chemical that
signals parts of the body to “swell and get warm”). That data came from blood
tests done after chemotherapy and at the study's midpoint and end.”
“Improvements
in T cells with post-chemo exercise were also recently reported by Canadian
researchers. They say they saw the benefit in a small group of postmenopausal
breast cancer survivors who worked out on stationary bikes three times per week
for 15 weeks.”
What are T cells? “T
lymphocytes belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes, and
play a central role”…when the immune system uses CELLS to attack infections.
Exercise stimulates the making of these cells in the thymus part of the brain.
So – exercise
boosts the immune system in several ways: helps to circulate wbcs and T cells, lowers
the chemicals that cause swelling, lowers the number of fat cells which make
estrogen which strengthens breast cancer cells making them harder for the
immune system to fight and regular exercise keeps the immune system working
like this LONGER.
Hmmm – pretty good
excuse to get on those treadmills, recliner bikes, ellipticals or just go out
and WALK!
