What is Cancer?
Cancer is a complex disease, and is further characterized by uncontrolled and abnormal division of cells in an individual. Cancer cells can invade the surrounding tissues, and spread to different part of the body through blood and the lymphatic system. Spreading and invasion of the cancer cells to adjacent tissues, and to different parts of the bodies is called metastatis. Metastatis can prove fatal to cancer patients.
Cancer is a broad term that refer to group of diseases, and there are many different types of cancer, each with its own unique characteristics. Further is mentioned some most common type of cancer:
1) Breast Cancer: Breast cancer affects the breast tissues, and is most common type of cancer in women’s.
2) Lung Cancer: Lung cancer originates in the lung tissues, and smoking is one of its major causative factors.
3) Colorectal Cancer: Colorectal cancer primarily affects colon and rectum of an individual, and usually originates at benign polyp which can be characterized at cellular level as dysplasia or metaplasia. This benign polyp overtime can acquire additional genetic mutations, and further gets neoplastically transformed as cancer cells.
4) Ovarian Cancer: Ovarian cancer originates in the ovaries, and is often difficult to detect it at earlier stages.
5) Leukemia: Leukemia affects the blood and the bone marrow, and causes excessive production of the myeloid cells.
6) Liver Cancer: Liver cancer originates in the liver, and is often associated chronic liver disease. Chronic liver disease can be characterized by cirrhosis of the liver due to chronic alcohol abuse, chronic hepatitis b infection etc.
Many other different types of cancer are present, and is caused by combination of factors like hereditary and acquired genetic mutations, environmental factors, and multiple lifestyle abnormalities.
What is exercise?
Exercise refers to a planned physical activities that is performed with an intention to improve and maintain physical fitness, and overall wellness of an individual. As per Ayurveda, exercises or vyayama also encompasses, and improves mental fitness and durability of an individual.
Exercise involves engaging in to different planned movements and physical activities that stimulate muscles, and improves cardiovascular functions. Exercise helps to develops muscles and improve overall general health of an individual. Exercise can help in reducing weight of an individual and so reducing the risk of cancer in an individual.
Different types of exercises
There are several types of exercises mentioned, and each is developed targeting different aspect of fitness:
1) Aerobic Exercises: Aerobic exercises increases heart rate and breathing, and is also called as cardiovascular exercises. Aerobic exercises facilitates in improving cardiovascular health and helps to burn down calories.
2) Strength Training: Strength training involves using resistance to build muscles and strength. Resistance can include weights, different grade of resistance bands, and or own body weight. Strength training helps to improve and tone up the muscle mass.
3) Balance Exercises: Balance exercises helps to improve the balance and stability of an individual, and thereby reducing the risk of fall. Balance exercises proves beneficial in older individuals, and senile cancer patients.
4) Flexibility Exercises: Flexibility exercises helps in improving flexibility and range of movements of the joints, and the muscles. Flexibility exercises involves doing different stretching exercises like Pilates, tai chi and yoga.
5) High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): HIIT helps in burning calories, and improving cardiovascular functions. HIIT consist of doing alternating short bursts of intense exercises followed by period of rest or low intensity exercises.
Concept of Exercise/ व्यायाम in Ayurveda
As mentioned in Ayurveda, Vyayama means all the planned exertional activities and it involves stretching of different parts of the bodies. Further Ayurveda has described that exercises or vyayama as one of the most important modality in improving firmness and stability in the body.
शरीरचेष्टा या चेष्टा स्थैर्यार्था बलवर्धिनी| देहव्यायामसङ्ख्याता मात्रया तां समाचरेत्||३१|| Charak Sutra 7
Exercise or Vyayama as mentioned in Ayurveda help in ameliorating lifestyle disorders, and non-communicable and communicable diseases. Exercises or vyayama is vital for optimal health, and stability in the body.
Benefits of exercise/vyayama
लाघवं कर्मसामर्थ्यं स्थैर्यं दुःखसहिष्णुता | दोषक्षयोऽग्निवृद्धिश्च व्यायामादुपजायते||३२|| Charak Sutra 7
Balanced and optimal exercise or vyayama imparts lightness in the body, strength to fulfil physical and mental duties, stability and endurance in the body, balancing the doshas and stimulation of Agni or digestive power.
Contraindications of ‘Excessive Exercise/Vyayama’
श्रमः क्लमः क्षयस्तृष्णा रक्तपित्तं प्रतामकः| अतिव्यायामतः कासो ज्वरश्छर्दिश्च जायते||३३|| Charak Sutra 7
Feeling exertion from different other physical and mental activities, feeling of fatigueness, wasting of the body from different diseases like Cancer, Diabetes etc., feeling of extreme thirstiness, bleeding from different part of the bodies, cough, fever and vomiting are contraindication from doing excessive exercise.
As per Ayurveda, cancer patients who are developing cachexia should always do mild exercise or vyayama.
Cachexia
Cachexia is a complex, and is one of the debilitating condition that is evident by progressive loss of weight mostly muscle mass loss, and profound weakness. Cachexia proves fatal in approximately 50% of cancer patients. Cachexia can also develop in various other health conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic infection or inflammatory conditions.
Cachexia can be classified in Ayurveda as Vyadhi Shoshit/ व्याधि शोषित. So Cachexia or व्याधि शोषित patients should always concentrate on mild form of exercise or vyayama as it will help to prevent further muscle loss, and preserve stability and balance in cancer patients.
Aerobic exercise is any type of cardiovascular conditioning, or “cardio.”
What is the best exercise for cancer patients?
Best or the recommended exercise for cancer patients is needed to be planned on an individual basis, and it depends upon type and the stage of the cancer of the patient, ongoing or the treatment received, and the patient’s overall general health and functional status.
Prior initiating exercise programme it is always necessary or mandatory to always consult the patients treating medical oncologist as intense exercise in cancer patients is always associated with risk factors like internal or external bleeding as cancer tumor is highly vascular but vessels are friable or fragile. Intense exercise can also increase the risk of fractures like vertebral fractures. Further is mentioned some types of exercises or vyayama that can be advised or recommended to cancer patients under guidance of his treating oncologist.
1) Aerobic exercise: Aerobic exercises consists of different activities like walking, cycling, swimming, and dancing. Walking is one of the most important aerobic exercise to be undertaken by cancer patients as it helps to keep the cancer patients mobile, independent, and maintain balance.
Walking can be at a slow place, and or brisk walking can also be recommended on an individual needs of the cancer patients. Different other aerobic exercises like cycling, swimming, or even dancing of mild to moderate intensity can help to build up the cardiovascular endurance, muscle mass and stability in the cancer patients.
2) Strength Training: Strength training using resistance bands and mild to moderate grade of weight lifting can be recommended in cancer patients based on the opinion of the patient’s treating medical oncologist. Mild to moderate grade of weight lifting help to maintain the muscle mass and preserve the functional capabilities necessary for daily activities. Most important of all strength training helps to prevent or reverse osteoporosis in cancer patient which can develop due to lack of physical activities. Mild amount of strength training is also recommended in cachexia patients as it helps to prevent or revert muscle loss, and so reducing the morbidity.
3) Flexibility and Stretching: Flexibility and stretching involves gentle stretching of the muscle and joints through different modalities like Yoga, Pilates, tai chi etc. Flexibility and stretching exercises is most important in cancer patient post-radiotherapy treatment.
Post-radiotherapy development of fibrosis or restriction of movements in the muscle and joints is most common complaints experienced in cancer patients. Doing different stretching and flexibility exercises can help to prevent or ameliorate post – radiotherapy fibrosis in cancer patients.
For example jaw muscle and neck muscle exercises in patients who have received radiotherapy for head and neck cancer can help to presence the mobility of jaw and neck muscles.
4) Breathing Exercises: Breathing exercises is most important in lung cancer patients, especially in patients who have received radiotherapy. Post-radiotherapy pulmonary or lung fibrosis is one of the most debilitating condition which develops gradually over year after the treatment of radiotherapy is taken for lung cancer or lymphoma.
Breathing exercises can involve doing Anulom – Vilom pranayama (अनुलोम–विलोम प्राणायाम), Kapalbathi (कपालभाति) etc. Such breathing exercises prevent the functionality of the lungs and increase the standard of living of the patients.
5) Functional Exercises: Functional exercises plays most important role in rehabilitation and training of cancer patients to fulfil their daily duties independently, and increase the standard of living of the patients. Debilitating condition develops in cancer mostly post-surgery like arm swelling post radical mastectomy in breast cancer patients or amputation of the limb post sarcoma or osteosarcoma.
About ‘Team Cancer In Ayurveda’
Team ‘Cancer In Ayurveda’ is dynamic and an experienced group of Vaidya’s and Yoga Specialist who are prolific and experienced in management of every aspect of cancer through Ayurveda.
Kindly connect with Team ‘Cancer In Ayurveda’ for successful management of Cancer through Ayurveda.
