The Active Effect’s
Staying Strong Through Your Cancer Journey
Here are a couple of facts that most people either know, or if they stopped and thought about them, would agree with: –
We should all exercise because it’s good for us
Treatments and survival rates for cancer have generally improved over the past couple of decades.
There are however, some other facts that go along with these, which hopefully make them even greater sources of hope and motivation.
Firstly, is that regular exercise of both the huffy puffy kind (cardiovascular – walking, jogging, running, cycling etc) AND strength training (resistance – weights, elastic bands, body weight etc) can reduce your risk of cancer in the first place.
Prevention is always going to be better than a cure, wouldn’t you agree?
Secondly, exercise, and again it should be some of each kind, can help improve your cancer journey by reducing the side effects of treatment including nausea, fatigue and loss of muscle bulk and bone density and strength, loss of appetite and loss of endurance. It can also help your body tolerate aggressive treatments more easily and thereby may enhance the effects of the treatment and help you to recover more rapidly after the treatment cycles are over. AND just as importantly, recent research results look promising for exercise being able to assist your body to stop the cancer coming back.
Even if you have never been particularly active before, a diagnosis of cancer is a very important reason to become more active. It’s a scary diagnosis without a doubt, and it will be a busy time with appointments, tests, decisions that need making.
We have the experience to design programs that fit in with you and that can be adjusted whenever your individual circumstances require it. We have an ever-growing knowledge of treatment protocols and cycles and use this knowledge to benefit our clients. We will be on your team and by your side, identifying the best days in your treatment cycle to go harder and those days where you need more rest. We can liaise with the rest of your medical team and move through the journey together, one day at a time.
Marlene Lovell – The Active Effect’s Director
Marlene graduated from the University of Tasmania and is Accredited with Exercise and Sports Science Australia – the only Accrediting authority for Exercise Physiologists in Australia. She is also a Credentialled Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and is eligible for international certification.
Along with years of experience as an Exercise Physiologist in a private practice that includes clients ranging from children to the elderly and with a wide range of health and personal reasons for seeking her help, Marlene also has over 20 years of experience in working in the community aged and disability care sectors, both as a Support Worker and as a Director of Care. Marlene is passionate about supporting the elderly to achieve healthy ageing and people of all ages to be their best possible selves.