On a recent Wednesday night, Cindy Gerstner, 42, strapped her feet into a rowing machine and began gliding back and forth with all the energy she could muster. This wasn't just a workout for Gerstner, whose stage 4 breast cancer has spread to her brain, lungs, bones and liver. It was a 40-minute dose of medicine.
"It's part of my treatment plan," said Gerstner, a member of Recovery on Water, a crew team made up of breast cancer patients and survivors who believe exercise is a powerful tool to help keep cancer at bay. "It's almost as important aschemotherapy in helping me stay on this earth as long as possible."
Once relegated to health clubs, exercise is muscling into its way into a wide variety of disease prevention and treatment plans. Physical fitness programs are already a staple of cardiac care. But though research is still in the early stages, there's encouraging evidence that consistent workouts can help with everything from cancer, autoimmune disorders andParkinson's disease to alcoholism. University of Illinoisscientists recently received funding for a study that looks at whether riding a stationary bicycle during treatment can help dialysis patients.
Source:LATimes
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