In the past, breast cancer patients who had undergone surgery were told not to lift more than 7kg for the rest of their lives. Doctors also encouraged rest and limited exercise, fearing that strenuous effort would slow treatment or exacerbate conditions such as lymphedema, a painful swelling of the arms.

But an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Weight Lifting in Women with Breast-Cancer–Related Lymphedema” [1] has reversed decades of cautionary advice by finding that slow, progressive weight lifting wasn’t just safe; it could prevent lymphedema flare-ups.

The studies found that the proportion of women who experienced an increase of 5% or more in limb swelling was about the same in the group who undertook a light weights program as it was in the group who did not undertake the program. ( 11% and 12% ). However, the group that undertook the weights program also reported improvements in severity of lymphedema symptoms, and improvements in upper and lower body strength.

No serious adverse events were reported.

So it would seem that some exercise in this case has proved beneficial to those who undertook it.

Anecdotal evidence has suggested that exercise could result in a 40 to 50 per cent reduction in the risk for recurrence of breast cancer, although randomised controlled trials would be needed to prove such a benefit.

References

1.“Weight Lifting in Women with Breast-Cancer–Related Lymphedema”, Kathryn H. Schmitz, Ph.D., M.P.H., Rehana L. Ahmed, M.D., Ph.D.,Andrea Troxel, Sc.D., Andrea Cheville, M.D., Rebecca Smith, M.D., Lorita Lewis-Grant, M.P.H., M.S.W., Cathy J. Bryan, M.Ed., Catherine T. Williams-Smith, B.S., and Quincy P. Greene. New England Journal of Medicine, 2009;361:664-73. Available online at http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa0810118.