Remaining Active After Cancer Treatment Comes With Benefits
- West Virginia swimmer Randy Taphebock credits staying active in the pool with helping him cope with and recover from leukemia, a disease he was diagnosed with after seeing a doctor for fatigue.
- Leukemia is different from other types of cancer because it is not just broken down into stages of severity, but into different categories based on the cells that grow into cancer cells and how quickly those cells grew.
- There are four basic categories doctors use to identify the different types of leukemia: acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, lymphoid leukemia and myeloid leukemia. It’s unclear which type of leukemia Taphebock battled, or what his treatment involved.
- Taphebock used physical activity to help amid is recovery during treatment. Now, he’s inspiring other survivors to combat a cancer fight with movement.
- We know that exercising helps strengthen your heart and is good for your overall sense of well-being. It probably sounds counter-intuitive to be exercising during chemotherapy or undergoing radiation, but getting out and getting some sort of exercise, no matter how hard it seems at the time, will help. Keeping even a little bit active helps alleviate some of the symptoms of chemotherapy.
Taphebock, who swims at a nonprofit wellness facility called Greenbrier Valley Aquatic Center (GVAC) in Fairlea, West Virginia, is sharing his story to encourage others to prioritize their fitness as they age, especially when facing a health challenge.
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Taphebock—who was in complete disbelief upon receiving the news, as he always strived to exercise and eat healthy—said one of the first things he asked his doctor was whether he could continuing his workouts while undergoing treatment.
Remembering how his doctor said exercise would be “helpful,” he chose to keep swimming.
Although Taphebock hasn’t disclosed what type of leukemia he battled, we’re so happy to hear he was declared in remission just one year after being diagnosed.
RELATED: Understanding the Key Differences Between Acute and Chronic Myeloid Leukemias (AML vs. CML)
He insists swimming helped “keep my mind off what was going on with the treatment and everything.”
Taphebock, who often had his wife accompany him to the fitness center where he swam, continued, “You get 70, you get arthritis and things like that. I didn’t have the energy I used to. But for me, swimming is relaxing.
“You just get in that water, put your mind somewhere, and just do it.”
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Understanding Leukemia
Leukemias are cancers that start in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. When these cells become leukemic, they stop maturing properly and grow out of control. Eventually, they spill into the bloodstream. Because they are essentially abnormal white blood cells, they prevent your blood from doing normal things like fighting infections, keeping your energy up and preventing excessive bleeding.
There are four basic categories doctors use to identify the different types of this blood cancer:
- Acute leukemia, which grows very quickly.
- Chronic leukemia, which grows more slowly, over several years.
- Lymphoid leukemia, which grows from lymphoid cells, cells that produce antibodies and protect against viruses.
- Myeloid leukemia, which grows from myeloid cells, the body’s first defense for bacteria.
Understanding The Different Types of Leukemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia that affects older adults. The average age of most patients at diagnosis is about 70 years old.
CLL accounts for about one-quarter of new cases of leukemia each year, and because CLL is a slow-growing, chronic cancer many people won’t necessarily need treatment at diagnosis.
Instead, patients are monitored and their blood count tracked to determine whether and when treatment is actually required.
“Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a cancer of a white blood cell called a B lymphocyte,” Dr. Matthew Davids, director of the Center For Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia at the Dana Farber Cancer, previously told SurvivorNet.
“These are cells that are normally there to help you fight off infections, and for reasons that we don’t often understand, these cells can gradually accumulate over time and become a tumor that we call CLL.”
Monitoring Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia After Diagnosis
How Maintaining a Balanced Diet and Exercise Regimen Are Helpful After Cancer
Exercising helps strengthen your heart and is good for your overall sense of well-being. Keeping even a little bit active helps alleviate some of the symptoms of chemotherapy, especially among cancer patients.
For example, programs geared for breast cancer patients, like yoga, provide benefits both physically and mentally.
WATCH: How Exercising Can Help Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk
Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos, an oncology physical therapist for Cancer Rehab and Integrative Medicine, says exercise offers a massive benefit to ovarian cancer patients regarding recovery. Examples include:
- Improve your circulation, which improves your wound healing and the fluid movement through your body
- Help soften any scar tissue that may be in the area (especially exercises that involve deep breathing or extending your chest and arms)
- Improve your endurance after surgery
In the very beginning, after surgery, Dr. Wicker-Ramos prefers to recommend “physical activity and movement” as opposed to “exercise” to reassure women that she isn’t saying they have to get right back into a full-on gym program right after surgery.
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“But starting to move more — starting a moderate walking program [or] a deep breathing program… all of those things can help with posture, can help with endurance, can help with your strength, and just get you back to where you were before,” says Dr. Wicker-Ramos.
Diet, exercise, and stress control are essential when going through cancer therapy, as well as once you’re done treating your cancer and trying to get back to the rest of your life, according to Dr. Sairah Ahmed, associate professor in the division of cancer medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“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,” Dr. Ahmed said.
Dr. Ahmed adds that people with cancer are encouraged to avoid losing weight during chemotherapy. “You want to have a moderate diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables, but also fat and protein, and you want to maintain physical exercise,” she explained.
She also supports the idea of patients remaining active – if possible – because it will allow them to better endure treatment and possibly experience less severe side effects.
Living a Healthy Lifestyle
We can’t help but admire Taphebock’s healthy exercise habits, something SurvivorNet experts also recommend.
The general recommendations for a healthy lifestyle are the same whether you have cancer or not. Dr. Ken Miller, the Director of Outpatient Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, has some guidelines for cancer survivors who are concerned about a recurrence:
- Exercise at least two hours a week, and walking counts.
- Eat a low-fat diet. The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study, which looked at early-stage breast cancer patients, found that a low-fat diet was associated with reduced risk for cancer recurrence, particularly in those with estrogen receptor-negative cancers. Other studies have found that foods with a high glycemic index that are digested quickly and cause a spike in blood sugar may lead to tumor growth in lung cancer patients.
- Eat a colorful diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. The American Cancer Society recommends aiming for two to three cups of vibrant vegetables and fruits each day.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown that being obese can increase your risk for several types of cancer.
Dig This: The Obstacles to Eating Healthy, and What You Can Do About
Gratitude Through Cancer
Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal cancer surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet that his patients who live with gratitude tend to handle treatment better because this attitude is one way to stay mentally healthy.
One reason this phenomenon is often reported anecdotally could be due to the reduction in stress level. Stress and anxiety can lead to physical issues, and practicing gratitude can help get both under control.
“The patients who do well with cancer, they live life with that kind of gratitude, but in terms of everything,” he explained. “They’re grateful, not for cancer, but they’re grateful for an opportunity to know that life is finite.”
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, multiple studies have indicated that learning to live with gratitude can lead to more happiness and less stress. One way to exercise gratitude is to take time to think about things you appreciate everyday, and some people find it helpful to write down those things in a journal.
Living In Gratitude
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
- What can I do if I’m struggling to be thankful for what I have in my life?
- Are there local resources for people who wish to start practicing gratitude?
- Do you know of any research on the benefits of living with gratitude?
- What else can I do to help reduce my stress level?
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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