Are There Any Risks to Exercising With Breast Cancer?
It’s safe and beneficial to exercise during and after breast cancer treatment, but be sure to follow any instructions or precautions your doctor sets out, start at an easy pace, and increase the intensity gradually.
Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy can put you at risk for lymphedema, a side effect that involves the soft tissues of your arm, hand, trunk, or breast fill with fluid and swelling.
“This fluid can build up and not be appropriately drained, causing swelling in the arm and sometimes pain and even an increased risk of infection of the skin of the arm,” says Simona Shaitelman, MD, an associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “It’s important to respect what your body is going through or has gone through as you deal with your cancer diagnosis,” she adds.
Some previous concerns suggested that lifting heavy weights or doing lots of reps could increase the risk of lymphedema after breast cancer surgery. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that all strength training is off the table, and studies have actually found that moderate, supervised weight lifting can reduce lymphedema symptoms.
However, it’s best to avoid intense exercise right after surgery. Start with light and progress to heavier weights over time — it may have more benefits than not exercising an arm that’s at risk for lymphedema.
“There’s very little risk of developing lymphedema from routine or guided physical activity, and, in fact, such activity may be helpful to possibly prevent lymphedema,” Dr. Bergom says. That’s true even if you had surgery or radiation on your axillary (underarm) lymph nodes, she notes.
Fatigue levels also matter. While regular exercise can go a long way toward managing treatment-related fatigue, there might be times when you’re just too zapped to work out. If that’s the case, don’t push yourself.
“It’s important to respect what your body is going through or has gone through as you deal with your cancer diagnosis,” says Karen Hock, PT, a physical therapist specializing in oncology rehabilitation and lymphedema management at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus.
There may be other risks you need to consider, too, depending on your treatment plan and any health issues you might be dealing with outside of your cancer. “It’s very individual for each survivor,” Dr. Shaitelman says.
Your cancer care team and primary care doctor can help you better understand any limitations you might be dealing with and how to exercise safely.
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