MOVE

Chemotherapy

Aerobic exercise during chemotherapy is established to be helpful for fatigue, anxiety, depression, and physical function.  NO ONE benefits from sitting on the couch all day, no matter how poorly you are feeling. That said, we do very much understand that how you will feel as you traverse the valley of chemotherapy will vary from week to week, and perhaps even day to day. 

Chemotherapy can be given daily, in pill form, or cyclically (for example, every 3 weeks).  Either way, there are likely to be times when you really don’t feel up to ‘exercise’.  Days with strong symptoms, when you have difficulty concentrating on television and don’t feel like socializing with your closest people might be termed ‘bad days’.  If you are able to focus and can socialize or work, let’s term those days ‘good days’.

The MOVE program for the period of time you are undergoing chemotherapy will vary according to whether you are having a ‘good day’ or a ‘bad day’.  See below.

Bad Days

MOVE program for bad days is to walk for 30 minutes.  Period.  If you cannot get to 30 minutes, do less, but walk.  If it’s raining, walk with an umbrella.  If you don’t feel like it, walk.  If you are nauseous, walk.  Just do it.  If it helps you to hate us while walking, we are okay with that.  We know it will make you feel better.

Good Days

MOVE program for good days is 3x weekly moderate intensity aerobic exercise, as follows:

Frequency:  3x weekly

Intensity: moderate to vigorous.  Use the ‘talk but not sing’ rule to gauge your intensity.  If you can sing, you are not working hard enough.  If you can speak a few words without gasping for air, you are working too hard.  We use this rather than heart rate response because many people take medicines that alter their heart rate or heart rate response to exercise. 

Time: at least 30 minutes per session

Type:  Walk, run, cycle, swim or dance around

 If you are not already an exerciser, build up to this dose of exercise.  If you don’t do 90 minutes a week already, build up to it over time.  Perhaps 20 minutes per session this week, 25 minutes per session next week.

Also see the general MOVE page for links to trackers, ways to find a trainer, and other resources.