hi guys

I'll shortly be starting my course of radiotherapy and whilst it's not guaranteed I will get xerostomia, the chances are very high I guess

I am an active runner and triathlete with a tri season ahead of me and I am planning to continue training as well as I can during the RT. I am sure this will help my immune system cope with it as well, let alone my head

what I'd like to know is if anyone has experience of intense aerobic exercise whilst suffering from xerostomia and how they coped with it. normally I produce a lot more saliva in training which tails off as dehydration starts to take over after a couple of hours, so I need to develop a training strategy to cope with this.

any experience, ideas, thoughts out there

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dr Vinod K Joshi,

Hello fat buddha

Intense aerobic exercises!

The radiotherapy is not a stroll in the sun, so conserve your body's energy for the healing it will need to do. Only do light exercise ( a brisk walk is okay, don't push it to limits). It is okay to be gentle with yourself. Once you are recovered there will be enough time for doing the 'ironman' thing.

Best wishes
Vinod

thanks Vinod

I have no plans for an Ironman this year but want to keep training for standard Olympic distance ones. I appreaciate what you are saying but I would also hope that exercise will also help speed up healing after but I am not stupid enough to keep training if my body says no.

I'm interested to see if there are any experiences of aerobic exercise during and after RT - maybe intense was over the top - let's say sustained

surely there must be experiences of active athletes going through RT and what they have experienced in terms of what they were like

Fat Buddha...

I suppose Lance Armstrong is an example of someone who continued to exercise aerobically through at least some phases of his cancer treatment, (chemo definitely, but not certain if he had radiation or not??).

Anyway, I don't know how many weeks/treatments of radiation you are about to receive but, while you may feel like doing some moderate easy physical movements on some days, sustaining an elevated heart rate (aerobics) will probably not be on your agenda for a while. Of course, I cannot say for sure... everybody reacts to radiation differently.

As Dr. J. said, reserving strength is important during radiotherapy. Not to discourage you (or cause undue worry), but serious athletic training will likely not be your focus once in the program for H&N radiation treatment. It's a big demand on the body. You're wise to say that you will not keep training when your body says no.

Let me also say this, your excellent physical condition is most definitely a HUGE plus in your battle with cancer and will be in your favor though radiotherapy.

Will you also get concurrent chemotherapy (along with radiation)?

My husband got both. He is now one year out and, although not as strong as before, his physical stamina is greatly improved.

When you feel like it, I hope you'll post a note so we know how you're doing with the radiation.

Take good care of yourself, Fat Buddha. I'm pulling for ya!

Melanie

Benefit of Aerobic Exercise During Radiation Therapy

quote:

NEW YORK DEC 07, 2006 (Reuters Health) - Moderate-intensity exercise, such as a brisk 20-minute walk three or more times a week, maintains or even increases erythrocyte levels during radiation therapy for breast cancer, researchers report in the November 15th issue of Cancer.

"Further study is required to determine whether the results of this study occur in other types of cancer being treated by radiation as well as in people receiving chemotherapy."

"Again this was a very small study of 20 subjects," Dr. Drouin emphasized. "However, the design was a randomized controlled clinical trial and none of the ladies had exercised for three months prior to the study. The study found that moderate intensity aerobic exercise of walking was a safe and economical method to preserve erythrocyte levels during radiation treatment for breast cancer."

SOURCE: Cancer 2006;107:2490-2495.

So fat buddha might have been doing the right thing ..... but it was moderate exercise!

moderate exercise?? pah

to be honest, I think fitness has helped me recover very quickly and since treatment ended in June I have competed in and finished a 1/2 Ironman in September which was my comeback target - and I was only 11 mins slower than my time in 2005 when I ws much fitter. I have also since completed Beachy Head Marathon in October - in exactly the same time as 2005 - and now have 2 Ironmen events planned for 2007.

On New Years Eve I will be racing a 10km race against another runner who has also suffered in 2006 (tonsil carcinoma) and has undergone radio and chemotherapy and who suffered more than I did. He is back running albeit not quite at the same level as before yet and has a London Marathon place for 2007. We both believe our fitness has helped overcome the aggressive treatments we have been through.

So - if I can give any advice to people suffering - take exercise. The study shows good results, and perhaps I and my fellow runner are also proof that fitness will aid recovery.

Have a great 2007 everyone - I intend to.

Hi there Festive Greetings! Although not an athlete, I have carried on playing tennis and golf during all of my treatment. My game is not so good as my neck dissection has given me limited left arm movement, but i have persevered
and found new techniques. Got back to swimming about a month ago as I had to wait for my peg to be taken out. All of my cancer team have been very supportive of me and say that it does wonders for recuperation. Not only on a physical side but also for mental health too.
Keep smiling!

Anne W

Hi FB

Don't know how we hadn't spotted you on here before, after all it was you who refered me to this site in the first place!

I'll "come out of the closet" & identify myself as the "other runner" refered to on the New Year's Eve 10K - also my 50th birthday!

Just like to confirm everything said above. Running helped a great deal mentally, although both speed & endurance dropped off a lot following surgery and more following R/T. However 3 months after the end of R/T I can say that endurance is coming back well, strength (ie speed) less so, but I'm sure ot will come.

The other point is that I'm sure fitness played a big part in recovering from surgery. I was expected to be in hospital for 3 weeks following my op (8 hours of surgery) but I was home on the 8th day.

hi 200 - not been on the site for a while so have missed your postings as well! we really must get out more...........

I guess we are both interesting "examples" of fitness helping recovery - both physically and psychologically.........

and for any readers - me and 200 did race over that 10km on New Years Eve - and he beat me by about 2 mins...........grrrrrr!

... but what FB is too modest to point out is that he is a triathlete - ie competetive at swimming, cycling & running all in one race!

I might have just beaten him in a run, but if water or bikes were involved I'd have been thrashed!