Hello doctors, I started powerlifting 2 years ago, and it’s been my passion since. Recently, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in my right testicle. I had surgery, and I feel completely fine. Unfortunately, I have to go through 2 rounds of chemotherapy. My doctor said that I can go to the gym, but I won’t feel the best during chemo. How should I approach training during chemo? After all this ends and hopefully, I am healthy again, will it have any effect on my body? Will chemo permanently damage my muscles or my body in general?
Hey there. Sorry to hear about this diagnosis; hopefully your situation is one of the more easily-treated types.
The main thing I would learn about and employ in your training is the concept of auto regulation, so you can account for the ups and downs you’ll experience throughout your treatment course. We have an article on this topic here: What is RPE in Lifting? (Rate of Perceived Exertion Explained)
As well as some useful videos:
While there can be certain long-term effects of chemotherapy, I would not spend time worrying about “permanent damage”, in general, because the priority here is getting the cancer fully treated and into remission.
Thank you, Austin, for the reply and the support.
I already know the concept of RPE and i apply it to my program. I learned it from Alan and you guys.
My concern is if I should train during treatment, and if yes, should I continue doing what I am doing now, or should I reduce volume, intensity, or should I move to a beginner program?
Regarding the cancer,
I was diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer. I had surgery to remove my right testicle, and I am technically cancer-free. All my scans show that I am clean. My doctor told me that there is a chance that some cancer cells could have escaped and they cannot be detected. Two cycles of chemotherapy are recommended to reduce the chance of cancer reappearing to 1%.
This makes sense.
To your questions: yes, you should train during treatment. However, no one can predict how you will respond to the treatment in terms of symptoms, side effects, fatigue, etc. – this will be something you can only determine after starting. As a result, there is no “up-front” modification I would recommend, but rather go into the process with the intent of being flexible. Some days you may be able to train normally, some days you may need to adjust things (whether the volume, frequency, etc.) depending on how you feel. In short: I would be aiming to train as normally as possible, but open to adjustments on-the-fly, as needed.
The only other consideration is that if you will be receiving chemotherapy through a chest port, there may be some implications for this in terms of exercise selection (e.g. bench press, etc.) that should be avoided/adjusted.