5 Tips for Exercising with Mesothelioma
Exercise is a vital part of a mesothelioma treatment plan. It not only helps your body to rebuild the damage from radiation, surgery and chemotherapy treatments, but it also helps to boost your immune system and lower your stress. If you are interested in feeling better during and after your cancer treatments, then learn how to exercise safely.
Exercise Tip #1 – Select a Safe Place to Workout
When you are undergoing cancer treatments for your mesothelioma your immune system is going to be weak. This means that you will be extremely vulnerable to infections. In order to cut down your risk for development an infection from your workout environment you will want to exercise in a private setting.
Exercise Tip #2 – Talk to Your Doctor First
Since your physical abilities and vulnerabilities will be impacted by your condition and by your treatments you need to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise routine. They will be able to tell you what exercises are safe for you to do, where you want your heart rate to be and how much exercise you should be getting each week.
Exercise Tip #3 – Sanitize Your Exercise Equipment
During mesothelioma treatments your white blood cell count is going to be down. This means that you are susceptible for catching colds, infections and other illnesses. To make your workout safer to do you will want to wipe down exercise equipment both before you use it and after you use it with a anti-bacterial spray or wipe. This will help prevent germs and bacteria from growing on your equipment and potentially infecting you.
Exercise Tip #4 – Pay Attention to Your Body
When you are exercising you need to pay attention to your body. If you are feeling fatigued take it easy and if you are feeling more energetic then push yourself a little further. Also if you notice blisters on your hands and feet you need to treat them immediately. You don’t want these blisters to get infected.
Exercise Tip #5 – Journal Your Workouts
As you exercise you will want to keep a journal that tracks your nutrition, your exercise, how you are feeling physically and how you are feeling emotionally. This journal will be valuable for you and your doctor if complications develop. It will also be helpful in finding the exercises and nutrients that you need to feel your best. Each journal article will need to document the day, the time, the duration of the workout and your feelings about what you did.