| The third annual Prostate Cancer Symposium | | | | The aerobic and resistance exercise groups |
| may not seem a likely place to hear about | | | | were found to have improved aerobic capacity |
| aerobic or resistance exercise. However, | | | | and decreased fatigue. In addition the |
| there was an interesting report proving the | | | | resistance group was found to have |
| value of resistance and aerobic exercise on | | | | significantly improved upper and lower muscle |
| those undergoing radiation therapy for | | | | endurance and reduced body fat. |
| prostate cancer. | | | | |
| | | | The effect of the study showed that there |
| Normally, you might expect that it would be | | | | were no detrimental effects of exercise |
| better to rest and preserve your strength to | | | | training on prostate specific antigen, |
| fight the cancer. But, researchers found that | | | | testosterone, or hemoglobin compared with the |
| by doing either aerobic or resistance | | | | control group. |
| exercise significantly improves both the | | | | |
| aerobic capacity and decreases fatigue. | | | | This information was distributed courtesy of |
| Fatigue is one of the major negative results | | | | he Prostate Cancer Symposium, A |
| of radiation therapy. | | | | Multidisciplinary Approach is co-sponsored by |
| | | | the American Society of Clinical Ontology, |
| Roanne Segal, M.D., of the University of | | | | the American Society for Therapeutic |
| Ottawa in Ontario and the Ottawa Regional | | | | Radiology and Oncology, and the Society of |
| Cancer Center and her team divided 121 men | | | | Urologic Oncology. |
| receiving radiation therapy for prostate | | | | |
| cancer into three groups. One group was the | | | | Presentation title: Resistance or Aerobic |
| control. There was no change in their | | | | Exercise in Men Receiving Radiation Therapy |
| schedule. One group was given an aerobic | | | | for Prostate Cancer: a Randomized Trial. |
| exercise program and the third group was | | | | Abstract 113 |
| given a resistance exercise program. The | | | | |
| study lasted twenty six weeks. | | | | There have also been findings suggestive that |
| | | | aerobic exercise can prevent prostate cancer. |
| Her research team enrolled the 121 men in the | | | | |
| 26 week study to determine whether exercise | | | | Interest in physical activity as a means for |
| could improve overall quality of life. The | | | | primary prevention of cancer is increasing as |
| men's mean age was 66. The men were receiving | | | | the evidence for a protective effect is |
| active radiation doses totaling 66 to 76 | | | | rapidly accumulating. One recent study |
| Gray. | | | | reported that when participants exercised |
| | | | aerobically for ~60 minutes a day for 11 |
| During the study, there were five negative | | | | days, IGF-1 was reduced by 20% and serum |
| events. One man in the aerobic exercise group | | | | insulin decreased by 25%. However, to date |
| had a heart attack during exercise. Another | | | | all the studies that have examined the effect |
| had a fainting spell. In the resistance | | | | of physical activity as a primary means of |
| exercise group, one man had chest pain, one | | | | reducing prostate cancer have been conducted |
| had a urinary obstruction and another had | | | | in Caucasians. Therefore, the purpose of this |
| nerve root compression. These incidents do | | | | proposal is to determine if 11 days of |
| not detract from the positive effects of the | | | | aerobic exercise will have a positive effect |
| exercise. Furthermore, there is no way to | | | | on serum factors that are known to increase |
| directly connect the incidents to the | | | | the risk of developing prostate cancer in |
| exercise. | | | | African American men. |
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