Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Yes I go for a walk every day

Read this: "Previous studies suggest that increased physical activity may lower the risk of breast cancer incidence, but less is known about whether levels of physical activity after breast cancer diagnosis can influence survival. We prospectively examined the relation between postdiagnosis recreational physical activity and risk of breast cancer death in women who had a previous invasive breast cancer diagnosed between 1988 and 2001 (at ages 20-79 years). All women completed a questionnaire on recent postdiagnosis physical activity and other lifestyle factors. Among 4,482 women without history of recurrence at the time of completing the questionnaire, 109 died from breast cancer within 6 years of enrollment. Physical activity was expressed as metabolic equivalent task-hours per week (MET-h/wk); hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. After adjusting for age at diagnosis, stage of disease, state of residence, interval between diagnosis and physical activity assessment, body mass index, menopausal status, hormone therapy use, energy intake, education, family history of breast cancer, and treatment modality compared with women expending <2.8> women who engaged in greater levels of activity had a significantly lower risk of dying from breast cancer (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.39-1.08 for 2.8-7.9 MET-h/wk; HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.35-1.01 for 8.0-20.9 MET-h/wk; and HR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.29-0.89 for ≥21.0 MET-h/wk; P for trend = 0.05). Results were similar for overall survival (HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.32-0.60 for ≥ 1.0 versus <2.8> P for trend <0.001)> age, stage of disease, and body mass index. This study provides support for reduced overall mortality and mortality from breast cancer among women who engage in physical activity after breast cancer diagnosis. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):379–86)" (See http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/2/379)

Thats some heavy reading first thing in the morning. (This is also further proof that everything can be found on the internet. If you want to prove or disprove something, look it up and it will be there. If its not on the internet, it doesn't count in life. But just because it is on the internet, doesn't mean it is true. However, I assume the paragraph above is true because it comes from a reliable source.) I am not sure exactly what all the numbers mean but basically what it says is that all my daily walks are good for me. However this morning its 59 degrees (that's summer in Boston) and raining. Should I go for a walk? Or should I procrastinate and pretend I will go for a walk later on today? I doubt I will go for a walk later because I have too much to do today - work, work from home, support group, and feed friend's cats. This may be my window of opportunity. But if I get moving and go for a walk, I can come home and take a hot shower to recover. Besides tomorrow I have another doctor appointment which can be a somewhat stressful event so perhaps I need a destressing walk today. This may prevent general crabbiness, whining, and complaining.

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