For children undergoing cancer treatment, physical activity and fitness can be of low priority. After all, people diagnosed with chronic or long-term illness are often told to rest and to take it easy. While this can be beneficial if the physical activity causes physiological problems — racing heart, shortness of breath, or pain — it isn’t a blanket recommendation for cancer patients.
Physical activity is enormously beneficial in maintaining mental and emotional health as well as helping the body fight and recover from illness.
Modern research shows that regular exercise for cancer patients is not just okay...it’s recommended!
For kids with cancer, routine exercise can:
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Improve cardiovascular function
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Maintain muscle mass and strength
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Prevent blood clots in the extremities
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Improve self-esteem
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Lessen anxiety and depression
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Lessen fatigue
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Strengthen bones
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Improve overall quality of life
St. Jude reports that over half of childhood cancer patients do not meet physical activity recommendations. They often don’t catch up with their peers once treatment ends, either.
The lifelong benefits of regular exercise outweigh today’s challenges. Physical fitness aids in recovery as well as long-term health and wellness.
Here’s how you can help your child stay active during and after their cancer treatment!
How to Help Kids with Cancer Stay Active
Consult their care team.
The average adult often ignores the advice to “consult your doctor” before beginning a new diet or exercise regimen. However, this is a non-negotiable for kids with cancer. Parents, talk with your child’s care team about what kind and how much exercise is appropriate for their stage of treatment. Together, you can develop concrete goals and be aware of limitations. If their care team clears them for exercise, you can move on from there.
As your child begins to exercise, keep their care team in the loop about their progress and challenges. They may be able to help you develop a more targeted, effective routine.
Find something fun.
Kids often get exercise without even thinking about it. For kids with cancer, many of these fun activities are taken from them. Things like playing sports or joining a team can be a lot more difficult, if not downright impossible.
What’s important here is to find something your child enjoys. We often quit exercising because we find our chosen workout boring.
There are many unconventional but effective ways gets can get exercise.
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Hula-hooping
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Roller skating
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Swimming
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Dancing
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Skipping
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Jump rope
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Playing on the playground
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Tag
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Frisbee
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Biking
Use a fitness tracker.
Fitness trackers were once an expensive luxury item reserved for ultra-athletes. Today, wearable fitness trackers are more accessible than ever. You can buy a quality fitness watch for under $50 if you know where to look! Studies show that fitness trackers can be enormously beneficial for pediatric cancer patients.
Part of this is that kids and caregivers can “see” their progress. They know how many steps they need to take in a day and can see how far they’ve gotten. They can gamify their goals with their peers. (Fitbit, for example, allows friends to compete with one another!)
A tracker can also help give your child’s care team clarity as to how much exercise they are getting daily. This allows them to more appropriately guide your child’s progress and set new goals.
Rest when needed.
Exercise and rest go hand-in-hand. Understand that a child undergoing cancer treatment is not going to have the same energy and stamina as a healthy child their same age. It may help to break exercise up into smaller chunks throughout the day to prevent fatigue.
Rest, too. Take breaks. While you want your child to be active most days, it’s okay to take a day or two off, especially if cancer treatments are taking a toll.
Set real goals.
Finally, set tangible goals together. After your child is cleared to exercise by their physician, you will also have an idea of what goals are appropriate for your child. The best goals are specific. For example, you want your child to perform aerobic exercise for at least 60 minutes daily. That sounds tough but remember: you can break that time down into smaller chunks.
Setting time, distance, or step goals allows you to keep better track of progress. Kids will be able to better recognize when they get stronger, too. While you don’t want to put too much pressure on meeting these goals every day, they do help guide an effective exercise routine.