HHS HealthBeat (December 17, 2010)

Weight training after breast cancer

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Women who get breast cancer treatment may develop possibly painful swelling in the arm or side affected by treatment, such as removal of lymph nodes near the breast with cancer. These nodes ordinarily hold and drain fluid, and the fluid can then back up.

But a study finds that a program of slow but increasing weight training can cut the risk of the condition, which is called lymphedema. At the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Kathryn Schmitz looked at data on 154 women. Half of the women lifted weights twice a week:

``Women who did the weight training were less likely to have increases in arm swelling than women who did not do the weight training.’’ (6 seconds)
The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.
Last revised: December, 16 2010