Chemotherapy often causes cancer patients to feel weak and nauseated. They may be depressed, have pain and suffer from extreme fatigue.

So exercise may be the last thing they feel like doing. But it can be one of the most important things they do.

Nash Health Care recently participated in the Get REAL and HEEL program, a project of the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The program serves post-diagnosed breast cancer patients who live in North Carolina.

Get REAL and HEEL stands for Get Recreation -Get Exercise - Get Active -Get Living. It is a prescriptive exercise and recreational program for North Carolina breast cancer patients. Through Get REAL and HEEL, exercise and recreation activities are designed to help patients manage cancer treatment-related symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, lack of energy and depression.

The medical community has started to recognize how important complementary therapy, such as exercise and recreation, are to helping cancer patients manage the side-effects of chemotherapy. The program's goal is to increase survival by providing patients with the tools to strengthen their body, mind, and as a result, increase their quality of life during cancer treatment, said Claudio Battaglini, of the Get REAL and HEEL program. Battaglini conducted an informational seminar for cancer patients in the auditorium of Nash General Hospital.

Claudio Battaglini (far left) and Diane Graff (center) speak with Jennifer Stephenson of the HealthFirst Rehabilitation and Fitness Center about the Get REAL and HEEL program.