Menopause:

A lot of younger women with cancer are thrown suddenly into menopause by their treatments. When menopause is sudden, very often the symptoms are severe. Menopause is a normal process. But when a woman is thrown into it by cancer treatments, there is no time for her body to adjust. It’s like hitting a brick wall. Regular exercise can help boost your mood, help you sleep better, and ease hot flashes. It probably won’t make the flashes stop, but exercise may make them a little better. Besides dealing with uncomfortable menopausal symptoms, young women are also thrown into a higher risk for osteoporosis and heart disease. Weight-bearing exercise is important for maintaining healthy bones. And the American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of exercise 5 or more days per week. Julie Tip

Whether from chemo or the side-effects of some of our drugs, we suffer from menopausal symptoms! I had often read that exercise can help relieve the symptoms, and had wondered if that’s really true. I exercise all the time and still have wickedly bad symptoms. What I have discovered is that if I take some time off from exercising (busy schedule, sick, lazy – yes, I’m lazy sometimes), my symptoms are so much worse. So exercise won’t eliminate the hot flashes, moodiness, or poor sleep; but it can make it all just a little better. And if I’m at a higher risk for heart disease and osteoporosis, I want to keep working out because exercise certainly is beneficial for that. For more information visit my blog.

Note: It is important to talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program.