Can Exercise Be Done During and After Chemotherapy or Targeted Therapies?

Staying active and doing regular exercise is very important to all. Is it the same for the people who are undergoing chemotherapy or targeted therapies? The answer is, yes if your condition is allowing your body to. Often the cancer patients are puzzled in the confusion of doing exercise during and after chemotherapy. The doctors have agreed and have been advising the patients who are undergoing cancer treatment in India to keep the body in motion even if only a little. Let us dig a little more into how safe or how carefully the exercise should be done during and after chemotherapy.

Can I Continue My Regular Exercise During Chemotherapy?

The answer is yes, you can do exercise but not vigorously and with caution also in some cases, you will even have to avoid it.

• If you are experiencing anemia, fatigue, or a lack of muscle coordination, exercise should be avoided.
• If your immune system and white blood counts are low (lower than 3,500 white blood cells per microliter of blood), you will have to avoid gyms, yoga studios, and other public places until your white blood cells count is back to normal.
• If you have neuropathy (pain or numbness from peripheral nerve damage) or tingling in your hands and feet from chemotherapy make sure you don’t injure yourself.  Consult an oncologist in India in such cases before starting your normal routine.
• If you’re getting chemotherapy to treat breast cancer that has spread to the bone then you may have a risk of breaking the bone. You should lower the intensity of your workout. Get prior advice from your doctor.
• If you’re on chemotherapy that may cause heart damage then make sure you ask your doctor or certified trainer about the exercise modifications you can make and at what intensity you can do your workout.
• Some patients have Adriamycin (chemical name: doxorubicin) as a part of the chemotherapy regimen, then you must avoid doing exercise on your day of chemotherapy and do very low-intensity exercise. Because Adriamycin can make the heartbeat irregular for about 24 hours after you receive it.

These are the cases where special attention has to be given before beginning your exercise. If you are being treated in the top cancer hospitals in India they will guide you at every stage of your treatment. Just make sure that you explain to them the exercises that you do or you are planning to do. The only bad news is if you are an exercise addict or have been doing cardio workouts you will have to slow down and start with very basic exercises. Walking is a great way to give a start. It’s an easy exercise that keeps the body moving.

Can I Do Exercise After Chemotherapy or Other Targeted Therapies?

Yes, you can but before that confirm with your doctor and ask about possible limitations. Some of the chemotherapy’s side effects can last longer. While getting chemotherapy treatment in India your doctor will guide you with the diet and exercises. And if your doctor is ready to start your exercises then you will see so many changes in your body. You will feel stronger and energetic, your mental health will also be balanced after emotional drains of treatment, and your quality of sleep will be improved, and so on. Hence, there are many benefits of doing the exercises, especially after chemotherapy to heal the body. But be extra careful in the cases we mentioned above where you will have to avoid doing exercises.

How Can I Begin? (Type of Exercise)

After getting healed and after your doctor is OK for you to start, you can start by doing two kinds of exercise, Aerobic and strengthening exercises. It depends on person to person’s condition if they can start or not.

Key Tip: Before starting any exercise please consult your doctor and take advice from them. Remember safety is important. 

Types of aerobic exercises:

• Walking
• Gardening
• Jogging
• Dancing
• Swimming
• Jumping rope

Types of strengthening exercises:

• Leg Lunges
• Sit-ups
• Pilates
• Yoga

Basic Tips for Exercise:

• The foremost important thing is to talk to your oncologist about an exercise program.
• Do those exercises that you really enjoy doing. Some prefer calmness in their exercise so they can do yoga, some need excitement so they can do some exercises.
• Try to find a partner who can join you in your workout. It will push you to do exercise daily.
• Talk to someone who has cancer and who has undergone chemotherapy.
• Listen to music while you exercise.
• Try various exercises daily to reduce boredom.
• Set personal goals.
• Take care of your mental health.
• Be kind to yourself.

The Bottom Line:

In the end, we can conclude that staying active throughout cancer treatment in India is incredibly helpful for physical, mental, and emotional health. Just in rare cases and some cases only your doctor will ask you to avoid it. If you are getting cancer treatment in India the doctors will make sure that you are left with no confusion therefore the cancer treatment in India is very popular. And if you find difficulty in finding the best-experienced doctors in India there are many medical tourism companies in India like Vanya Health, who can help you with the best doctors and hospitals.