Alright, it is week two and the focus is exercise. This is my jam. I actually love to exercise, I always have. The real question is HOW MUCH do I need to actually FIT IN in order to help prevent breast cancer naturally? Also, what counts as exercise when it comes to cancer prevention and cancer survival?
According to the American Institute of Cancer Research, we need at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week of moderate activity. But, you can get more protection from more minutes and more vigorous activities.
Brisk walking counts as moderate activity. So, the simple answer is 30 minutes of brisk walking 5 days a week will help prevent breast cancer naturally.
But, remember in the About Me section when I said my oncologist calls me an Uber Maximizer? Well yeah. I'm not interested in the minimum, I want to know how to max out my cancer risk reduction through activity.
Once we know the real answer to how much, then we'll talk about how to fit it into life.
Before we dive into exercise, I feel like I should let you know something about me. See, folks who know me well, they're already shaking their heads and cozying up with a blanket and a coffee... because I could talk about exercise non-stop for hours. My sister probably saw the title for this post and ran the other direction. (But at least she ran! LOVE YOU :))
For me, exercise has always been a way of life. It's always been about having fun, being with good friends and getting outside. It wasn't about killing myself in a gym. I hope, I can impart my love of exercise to others.
I also want to share a secret. Exercise is the single best way to make new friends as an adult.
Oh my exercise resume....
In high school I was a US National Champion and Canadian National Champion rower. I was also varsity captain of my crew.
In college I played on the Ultimate Frisbee A team and coached the B team at UVA
In my 20s I ran 9 marathons
In my 30s I got too busy and hardly exercised at all... then I got cancer
Last fall (at age 39) I ran my 10th marathon... fuck cancer
So yeah, I'm defiantly on the exercise bandwagon. Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't let life get in the way and kept exercising, maybe I wouldn't have gotten cancer.
Shoulda...woulda...coulda...it's a pointless way of thinking.
What does the scientific research say about exercise and breast cancer prevention and cancer survival?
Ooooooh fun, the science stuff. Let's all dig down deep and embrace our inner geek for a moment now. Common, I know it's there somewhere.... deep deep down. Somewhere.
How much physical activity should I aim for each day?
Getting regular physical activity every day in any way lower cancer risk. Aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or at least 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week. By walking 30 minutes a-day, five days a week you can easily meet AICRs recommendation and reduce your cancer risk. For more protection, aim to be active for 45-60 minutes every day. - American Institute for Cancer Research
Okay, so the AICR is pretty clear, 30 minutes 5 days a week, or even better 45 to 60 minutes. And I totally nailed it today because a friend of mine and I just popped out for a 40 minute walk during lunch.
Sweet. But wait....hmmmm, that's a recommendation for the general adult population. I just find it hard to believe that the same recommendation that applies to an 80 year old man applies to a 40 year old woman, let alone a 40 year old marathon runner.
So, I need some specifics.
First, what is "moderate" and what is "vigorous" exactly? I mean this is the era of quantified self and apple watches. Can we get some definitions here? I checked and AICR gave examples for both:
Moderate = brisk walking, gardening, and water aerobics
Vigorous = running, fast cycling, and swimming laps
Okay, new threshold. So now this means I can get by with 75 minutes of running a week, or 3 25 minute runs. Hmmmmm seems low. I mean, my last marathon took me 5 hours and 11 minutes. I have a friend that did a 12 hour race and ran 63 miles! Yes, you read that correctly, my friend ran for 12 hours non stop.
Common. This can't possible be sufficient to max out my cancer prevention benefits.
When in doubt, get a second opinion!
The below quotes are all from the Women's Health Matters: Nutrition & Breast Cancer published by UCSF Medical Center. You can download the full 92 page paper below. Don't worry, I'll interpret these quotes for you. I've become fluent in scientific papers after 2 years.
Women who engaged in regular strenuous physical activity at age 35 had a 14% reduced risk of breast cancer compared with less active women [320]. A similar trend was observed for regular strenuous activity at age 18 and at age 50.
Okay, with the first quote we learn it doesn't matter how old you are, exercise helps. Meaning, any age is a good age to get physically active when it comes to cancer prevention. It's not too late, and it's not too early.
47% of women reported walking as their only recreational activity; among these women, a 14% lower risk was observed for ≥7 hours/week relative to ≤3 hours/week of walking.
Next we learn that half of us ladies use walking as their only form of exercise. And, that walking for 7 or more hours per week (e.g. 1 hour a day) has a greater impact than 3 hours per week (e.g. 30 minutes 6x a week). So more is better.
A cohort* study of over 73,000 women reported that the most active women (those reporting >42 MET-h/week) experienced a 25% lower risk of breast cancer than the least active women [325].
Alright, so real scientists did real research of lots of women. From that they learned that a 150 pound woman who burns 3000 calories a week (which roughly translates to running 30 miles a week) had a 25% lower risk than the lazy ladies. BTW - 30 miles a week is a pretty normal amount of running during marathon training. (See, I've already justified my marathoning habit! And my sister just face-palmed :))
Post-menopausal women who exercised the equivalent to running for 3 hours weekly and those that were active to the equivalent of 24 hours weekly of moderate household work reduced breast cancer risk by 40% [339].
And, for older women doing 180 minutes of vigorous exercise per week OR who did 24 hours of moderate household work (um... that's almost 5 hours a day Monday to Friday) had a whopping 40% reduction. I'm sorry, but going for 3 runs seems so much easier than working your ass off Monday to Friday. I'm just saying. But, can we also give a huge round of applause to these ladies?
After some excellent internet sleuthing I found this chart in a Breast Cancer UK YouTube video - (sadly it only had 500 views) - but such great information!
Relative Risk means they said "Let's pretend that risk reduction of getting 0 hours of exercise per week = 100 and then measure everything from 100." Data people do this to make the chart easier to read.
Did you know there are 168 hours in a week? Even if you slept 8 hours every day there would still be 112 hours left. This study only measures up to 10. I wonder how many hours of physical activity a cavewoman got each week? What do you think the cancer rates where back then? (Low, because they didn't live long enough to get cancer... but still... you get my point.)
This video actually had some great stuff in it. Plus a British accent!
Here's a screens grab
INTERESTING! Even though they know there's more benefit to be had, they also recommend the 150 moderate and 75 vigorous. (Same as the American Institute for Cancer Research.) Though the video did say that the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends 300 minutes.
What I like about this is the specifics:
150 minutes moderate OR 75 minutes vigorous (defined as breathing fast/difficulty speaking)
2 days a week do strength
2 days a week improve balance
Alright, now I'm starting to see a training plan coming together. (And, I definitely need strong bones because the bones are one of the top 4 places breast cancer spreads to. Plus, post surgery, my flexibility has just not been the same... Hello yoga!)
The below schedule is actually a very realistic week for me... when I'm marathon or half-marathon training. Actually, a weekly long run of 10 miles is short. 20 miles was my longest training run.
Here's a training plan that would help someone train for their first half marathon. I've done a ton of Hal's plans. They're great. He's legit.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
5 mile run | 6 mile run or 1 hr bike | 4 mile run | | 5 mile run or 1 hr bike | 10 mile run | |
| | | 1 hr Yoga w/ Weights | | | 1 hr Yoga w/ Weights |
| | | 30 min walk | | | |
The key to actually doing this? Have an accountability buddy. Seriously, knowing someone is outside your door in the rain is an excellent forcing mechanism to get your ass out of bed at 5:30 in the morning.
As a working mom, yeah, that's what it took for me. Getting up at the butt crack of dawn.
I have a lot of respect for women who run, for any reason. I've met some of my best friends in the world by joining running clubs. They're typically free and trust me, there will be women running (or walking) all all different speeds. Don't let imposture syndrome hold you back from joining! She Runs This Town is a particularly popular option.
If running isn't your thing. I totally get that. Another day, I'll write a post about the benefits of morning dance parties! (Hint: little girls LOVE them)
How does exercise prevent breast cancer naturally?
This great little video answered that too.
First, exercise can reduce levels of estrogen in the body. (Sweet, I currently take medication that's trying to do that. Total bonus if exercise helps with the effort. ) Also, maybe this can help counter all those not-so-great estrogen-disruptors and other toxins all around us.
Next, it helps out that little army of white blood cells and is anti-inflammatory (this is good).
Finally, it reduces obesity and body fat. As a cancer survivor, I know that obesity is the single biggest thing correlated with recurrence. I also know obesity can make Tamoxifen less effective. Alright, I'm all in. I need that Tamoxifen to work!
Better yet, diet and exercise combine to reduce breast cancer risk even more.
In the running world we frequently say 'you can't outrun a bad diet'. Basically, don't expect to lose weight running if you eat pizza and ice cream all the time. Sure, maybe in your 20s it was okay, but trust me once you're over 30 it'll just make you puke. I learned the hard way.
Okay... back to the science...
As noted earlier, the combination of consuming five or more daily servings of vegetables and fruits, and accumulating 540+ metabolic equivalent tasks-min/wk (equivalent to walking 30 minutes 6 d/ wk) decreased mortality by nearly 50% [13]. o The effect was stronger in women who had ER+ cancers. -Women's Health Matters: Nutrition & Breast Cancer
Oh wait. It gets better! If I exercise AND eat plants than I can cut the chance of dying by more than 50% (Yup, I'm the ER+ type of gal.) Well shit. That sounds good. Well hell, this is just for walking 30 minutes a day. What might happen if it RUN AND EAT PLANTS?
Whoa, it's like we're biologically wired to walk all day gathering fruits and nuts. Hmmm, what if Paleo got it wrong and picked up on the wrong side of the Hunter-Gatherer duo?
Just saying.
Anyway, don't worry friends, I'm still an omnivore, but I'm definitely signing up for another race. Plus, my sister promised to do one with me when she moves back here. I am so not letting her forget that now!
The Yummy Part. Eating for Life.