Exercise during chemo may improve heart, lung function
Chemotherapy may make exercise seem unimportant. New study recommends it be first.
According to Dutch experts, exercising during chemotherapy is safe, improves long-term cardiac and pulmonary performance, and may relieve treatment side effects.
They emphasised that if you can't exercise during chemotherapy, start thereafter to restore cardiac function.
When chemotherapy prevents exercise, starting a programme thereafter is one option.
The researchers found that peak oxygen uptake, a heart health indicator, drops by 25% after chemotherapy
Cancer therapy may influence quality of life and cardiorespiratory fitness. It also causes acute exhaustion and cardiovascular mortality, they noted.