Hitting the Trails to Support Cancer Treatment
Living with cancer is scary, stressful, uncomfortable, and even painful. And yet, getting outdoors and getting exercise is not only possible for cancer patients, it is recommended. Experts now say that patients in treatment for all types of cancer should avoid inactivity. Add this recommendation to the fact that being outdoors and in nature has benefits for mental health, and hiking trails make a lot of sense.
How Hiking Can Benefit Cancer Patients
Experts recommend that cancer patients stay active to a degree that makes sense for each individual. Some patients are sicker than others, so getting a recommendation from your doctor is important first. Even while sick and with limitations, some exercise is possible and beneficial:
- Being active helps manage symptoms of cancer and side effects of treatment.
- Exercise can help with weight maintenance and appetite stimulation.
- You may feel better about your abilities and your body when active.
- Exercise has positive benefits for mental health.
- Activity reduces fatigue and improves mobility.
While any activity is better than none, hiking on trails is a great option for a few reasons. Perhaps the most important of these is the benefit you’ll get for your mood and mental health. Studies show that spending time outdoors, exposed to nature benefits physical health and reduces stress and anxiety.
Even with Severe, Aggressive Cancers, Get Outside
Some of the patients who can expect the biggest benefits may unexpectedly be those with the most severe types of cancer. The positive boost in mood you can get from being on the hiking trails is most needed for people with terminal and aggressive cancers, like mesothelioma, metastatic breast cancer, or pancreatic cancer.
Peritoneal mesothelioma, for instance, is a cancer that is almost always terminal. It can leave you feeling utterly hopeless, afraid, anxious, and stressed. While your physical abilities may be severely limited with this kind of cancer, which is tied to asbestos, any time spent out on the trails will only provide benefits.
Exercising with Cancers that Effect Breathing
The most difficult cancers to manage with exercise and hiking are those that impact the respiratory system. Different types of lung cancer and mesothelioma, which effects tissue around the lungs, as well as other types of cancers that have spread to lung tissue, cause shortness of breath, chest pains, and other difficulties related to breathing.
With these types of cancers it can be challenging just to walk. But even at a slow pace, and with someone else for safety, a short walk along an easy trail is possible. Any type of activity you can get in, no matter how slowly you have to go, will only make you feel better. Take it slow, sit down for breaks often, and always be sure to get your medical team’s approval before going for a hike.
Trail hiking is an all-around great activity for anyone who can physically do it. If you are living with cancer, physical activity appropriate to your current abilities and limitations is recommended. Getting outside on a trail will give you additional benefits, so find a local trail or park, grab a friend, and take a hike.
