With many advertising campaigns and media outlets talking about various forms of cancer, not much is shown in relation to one of the biggest cancers in our modern society – Prostate cancer.
It is a disease of men, with 22,000 case diagnosed each year, with 3,300 deaths recorded each year. This means it is the second highest death causing cancer. Most men over 50 years of age are at risk, with the most prevalent age bracket being 65 to 69 years of age.
What is prostate cancer?
It is an abnormal growth of cells in the prostrate, which is located below the bladder, and encircles important ducts like the seminal vesicle (for sperm transfer externally) and the urethra 9for transport of urine externally.
Treatment of prostate cancer can involve surgery as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Most men will also undertake Androgen Suppression Therapy (ADT). ADT is pharmaceutical treatment that stops or reduces testosterone production in the body. This is done as testosterone (a sex and growth hormone) will fuel the cancer to grow.
How does exercise help?
On many different levels, maintaining exercise through treatment and afterwards, has been shown to improve recovery from and reduce the possible relapses of men who have been diagnosed.
Exercise is thought to initiate a response (started with adrenaline) that prompts a cascade type reaction of hormones. The end result of this is that the damaged cells have a beacon type molecule attached to them, bringing in our natural killer cells (our own immune cells) to fight the damage. It is not known, however, what type of exercise (cardiovascular or resistance) initiates this process.
The other benefits of maintaining exercise is the reduction in lean muscle loss and loss of bone density, and the reduction in other health issues arising (i.e. cardiovascular disease) which can still be a threat if the patient had these risks prior to the diagnosis.
How much exercise? five day a week you need to be completing between 20 and 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, at a level that is 70% or higher of your maximum heart
Resistance training is recommended twice a week, aiming at three sets per exercise, up to 12 repetitions on an exercise. Each session should contain six to eight exercises.
Flexibility training is also recommended.
For more information, go to https://www.exercisemedicine.org.au/