In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the countless women and men who have experienced breast cancer, we salute the survivors, their family, friends, and caretakers who are all affected by this disease in a myriad of ways.
While breast cancer itself can be frightening, the treatment options for the disease are, unfortunately, no walk in the park either. Chemotherapy remains one of the most effective treatments to reduce tumors and lessen the risk of the cancer coming back. This powerful drug works by attacking the body’s fastest growing cells, because cancer cells grow much faster than most.
While the goal of chemo treatments is to attack and kill cancer cells, it does not discriminate between healthy cells and cancer cells. As a result, the healthy cells in the body, especially those that grow quickly like hair, skin and nails, are at risk of harm during the course of chemotherapy. This is the reason for the extreme side effects like nausea, hair loss, dry skin, fatigue, and dental complications.
There is some good news for patients undergoing chemotherapy, though. Researchers have found that people who exercise regularly during their chemotherapy treatments can reduce the impact of some of the