Exercise, Breast Cancer and You: The Benefits of Physical Activity and How to Get Started
Learn the latest research findings about exercise after a breast cancer diagnosis. Understand exercise recommendations. Get practical tips on fitting exercise into your everyday life and getting started with a routine.
Regular exercise can help you manage your weight, reduce long-term side effects of treatment and improve how you feel about your body. During this program, two experts who worked on the Physical Activity and Lymphedema (PAL) study, Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, and Cathy Bryan, explained the benefits of exercise after a breast cancer diagnosis. You
- learned the latest research findings about exercise after a breast cancer diagnosis
- understood exercise recommendations
- got practical tips on fitting exercise into your everyday life and getting started with a routine
About Our Speakers
Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, is associate professor of epidemiology in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Schmitz’s primary research interest is the relationship between obesity and cancer. She has headed several influential studies on the role of physical activity on the development, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of cancer, including the PAL trial, a clinical trial testing the safety of weight training for women at risk for or living with lymphedema.
Cathy Bryan, MEd, CET, has been a personal fitness trainer since 1993 and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as both a Personal Fitness Trainer and a Certified Cancer and Exercise Trainer. Her work includes training before, during and after treatment. Ms. Bryan has worked on major research studies such as the Strength Training for Obesity Prevention study at the University of Minnesota and the PAL study at the University of Pennsylvania. As research coordinator for PAL, Ms. Bryan led the data collection effort, conducted personal training for women with breast cancer and taught staff how to train people with cancer.
Ms. Bryan developed a community outreach program, PALS for Life, which offers safe and effective strength training to people with breast cancer based on the PAL research findings. She teaches PALS for Life workshops to lymphedema therapists and personal trainers to help them develop their own exercise programs for breast cancer.
