No Sweat.

Image by Nathalie Gordon

Exercise is boring. I have always disliked it. Treadmills, rowing machines and stationary bikes seem like a lot of hard work that doesn't go anywhere. The sad side-effect of hating exercise is being unfit, which means I like it even less.

I had a gym membership for six years, and when I tallied all the hours I spent sweating it out in public, I realised each visit cost me $618.00.

I was surprised when my breast cancer surgeon, my oncologist and my GP all confirmed that daily exercise is one of the best lifestyle changes I could make to prevent cancer recurrence.

Renowned breast cancer surgeon Dr Kristy Funk said that women who do 30 minutes of moderate exercise (a brisk walk) for three to four hours per week have 30-40% less breast cancer than sedentary women. More than four hours? A 58% decrease.

To put that in perspective, 30 minutes of moderate exercise a few times a week could give me more protection against breast cancer than my daily cancer medication.

I wish I had known this before I got breast cancer. The endless sedentary work I was doing was killing me. Humans are made to move.

You will never see me wearing spandex on a treadmill at the local gym but I will dance in my kitchen while I make dinner, walk my dog to the local coffee shop and take the stairs instead of the elevator. There are so many simple and enjoyable ways to get 30 minutes of exercise.

If I had known that a brisk daily walk could prevent me from getting breast cancer, I would have stopped complaining and bought some walking shoes!