Exercise Oncology...what say you?

@handera
I was very active prior to my dianosis. I was doing Sprint Triathlons. I trained for them along with water aerobics so was busy every day. When got diagnosed had to stop biking and thus no Sprint Triathlons either.

I was told (UFHPTI) to stop biked riding when I was diagnosed, prior to Space/Oar and during radiation treatments. Some have posted were not told to not bike ride so passing on my experience with what I was told by my R/O to limit any pressure on Space/Oar and also not to irritate a prostate any further during treatments.

Some of the side affects I was told was fatique. I was advised that being in good shape and continuing to exercise would help lesson fatque and also help your body deal with the side affects of radiation.

I stopped the bide riding but increased my walking and swimming. I also do water aerobics 5 days a week. I had very minor fatique that my R/O and PCP stated was because I was physically fit prior to treatments and kept my fitness up.

Now for me and many others the physical side affects are not as bad as the mental side affects. I found exercising every day (with few excpections) helped my mentally just as much as physically.

After about seven years on ADT, I realized I could not get off the floor without holding onto a chair or some large item in order to stand up.

I had been been walking twice a day about a mile each time for about a year, And I don’t know for sure, but I don’t have any fatigue and that might be a factor.

About nine months ago, I started going to the gym three days a week. I can now get off the floor, but I found at 77 that I can’t move up weights quickly (just adding 10 lbs) or I end up in pain for a week from overdoing it.

So you can rebuild your muscles when you’re this old and on ADT, but you have to take it easy.

I do take advantage of one thing. I reduced the amount of weight I’m using in some leg and arm exercises, But do the exercise until I cannot do one more rep. This is supposed to help build muscles, no matter what weights level you are using.

Great to hear of your recent gym workouts…sounds like your perseverance is beginning to reap benefits.

You mention a great point about any exercise program…build up slowly…especially if you’re just starting out!

One day after I retired (July 1, 2022 @ age 66) I went to the local college track and had to stop and walk a lap after slowly jogging just one lap…I had no endurance…that was three years ago.

For the next 15 months I was off/on (mostly off) with running or any form of regular exercise….but I knew I could do more….if I wanted to…

Strange as it may sound, I now look at my low risk PCa diagnosis, in October 2023, as a blessing in disguise.

Upon diagnosis, I decided to get serious about aerobic exercise….for me that meant running….started out at 8-10 miles per week….always on a rubberized track and always with ultra cushioning Hoka Bondi shoes….safety first!

Beginning in March of this year, I started running ~15 miles/week in Zone 2 (70% of maximum heart rate) 80-85% of the time….much more comfortable running.

I also increased a moderate 2 x 2 HIIT program, after each 5k run, 2-3 times per week.

Finally, I also added 2 sets of pushups (before my runs) to include some upper body strengthening.

I always give myself a days rest between workouts.

Ran several 10k’s in prep for the PeachTree, which was an amazing and fun event, shared with my son-in-law!

I was a gym rat well before I started prostate cancer treatments (proton radiation + Eligard), but I ramped up my exercise regimen prior to hormone therapy treatments.

Every day immediately after radiation treatments I’d go to the gym for 1-1/2 hours of weightlifting (split routine). Also, on alternating days I would either run 5Ks or swim laps for 35-45 minutes.

I enjoyed swimming so much that I competed in the Senior Olympics that year. I didn’t break any world records(!), but I was competitive in my age bracket (65y), and even won a few ribbons. (See photo.) My wife used to joke that given my low testosterone, that I should’ve competed against the women!

These days, I’ve slacked off a bit. But, still try to stay in shape.

Quite impressive! Looks like you were absolutely on top of your treatment….and benefited immensely from your exercise regiment.

An athletic renaissance man…good for you!

Noticed your medals are from Ohio. I grew up in Cincinnati, wife’s from Cleveland and went to Ohio State in Columbus…so we’ve got that state covered 😉

I’m amazed at the enormous number of studies that have demonstrated the benefits of vigorous exercise in dramatically slowing the progression of prostate cancer.

20 years ago a comprehensive study concluded:

“In conclusion, men 65 years or older engaging at least 3 hours of vigorous physical activity weekly had a markedly lower risk (almost 70%) of being diagnosed as having high-grade, advanced, or fatal prostate cancer. The findings were consistent over time, did not appear to be caused by bias or confounding, and are compatible with hormonal hypotheses regarding prostate cancer progression.”

…and hundreds of studies, since 2005, have confirmed this well researched benefit of vigorous exercise.

So why is this not the PRIMARY prescription of every physician treating prostate cancer?

As Robert H. Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist, said:

“If you could put the benefits of exercise into a pill, it would be the most widely prescribed drug in the world.”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1152790

Here’s an article that does a “deep dive” into the science of exercise oncology.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/apatientsjourney/111703

The hardest part of treatment for me was being told no biking for six months since that's my favorite thing. Even after the six months passed, it was still painful to ride so I had to buy padded underwear in addition to my usual biking shorts, and got a new seat for my bike that supports my butt bones and doesn't put any pressure on my perineum.

I was pretty depressed during treatment but still forced myself to go to the gym and lift weights, and I walked 4-5 miles every day with my dog. Last September, I did a 108 mile walk to raise money to fight PC (108 miles over the entire month, not all at once).

If I'm being honest, exercise didn't improve my mood at all. It made me angrier because I could see how much weaker I was. But I stuck with it anyway.

Now I'm really happy when I'm riding my bike and am back to about 30 mile rides but still get really angry and depressed at the gym when I see how little progress I'm making (my testosterone is dropping after stopping ADT rather than climbing) and I question if I made a mistake by agreeing to do six months of it (ended 9 months ago now). I can't help but compare how I looked two years ago to how I look now, especially now that I've become more feminine looking with less muscles and no body hair.

Lookin’ good, Brian!💪

I continued running 5-6 days per week and working out with weights 2-3 days per week right up until two days before my RARP. I'm a reformed marathoner and typically run anywhere from 20 minutes to 6 miles depending on life routines (running is a priority these days, but not THE priority), with semi-regular treadmill HIIT workouts. I'm 5'9" and dropped about 15 lbs down to 152 lbs after my diagnosis in January, which I attribute mostly to cutting out sugar and caffeine then going pretty strict Keto for six weeks or so, because my exercise routine has been fairly consistent for the last few years. I also saw a pelvic floor PT specialist and started a Kegel routine about 2 months out from my surgery.

I can't demonstrate causal links, of course, but I had surgery less than three weeks ago and was up walking the day of surgery, required no narcotic pain medicine, and have had almost zero continence issues (minor dribbling here and there, which I also had more frequently before surgery). The surgeon told my sister that my fitness made his job easy.