At The Boob Ride, we encourage everyone to get out and ride. The benefits of exercise on our bodies and our minds have been long-studied and well documented. But what happens if you are recovering from an injury, illness, or surgery? How do you know when to push through and when to rest?

For the past five months, I've been grappling with these questions as I recover from ankle tendon surgery. As with many recovery processes, I find that I start to feel stronger so I start to gradually increase my exercise level. The hardest part for me is judging the level of intensity, so that I am challenging myself but not going so far as to re-injure my ankle. It can be frustrating to find the right balance between challenge and re-injury setbacks. 

This got me thinking about what part exercise should play in treatment and recovery with cancer. According to the American Cancer Society site, it asserts that:

"Exercise has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, body composition, fatigue, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, happiness, and several quality of life factors in cancer survivors. At least 20 studies of people with breast, colorectal, prostate, and ovarian cancer have suggested that physically active cancer survivors have a lower risk of cancer recurrence and improved survival compared with those who are inactive."

In addition, it states that  "research has shown that exercise is not only safe and possible during cancer treatment, but it can improve how well you function physically and your quality of life. . . Too much rest can lead to loss of body function, muscle weakness, and reduced range of motion. So today, many cancer care teams are urging their patients to be as physically active as possible during cancer treatment."

For more information on exercise during cancer treatments and recovery, please see the American Cancer Society's site.

So we encourage all of our Boob Ride supporters and participants to get out and ride. The Boob Ride offers different distances and fully supported rest stops and SAG wagons to help encourage you along the way.