Cancer and exerciseExercise 4 cancer prevention treatment & beyondThe link between cancer and exercise is examined with provocative findings & helpful suggestions for prevention & dealing with cancer. For our more specific pages on cancer and exercise click on the following links of interest: Current cancer patients & exercise Uterine, ovarian, endometrial & lung cancer and exercise Cancer statistics Roughly 1.5 million cases of cancer are diagnosed yearly in the U.S. The likelihood of developing cancer in the U.S. is astonishingly high, almost 50% for men, a little less for women. There are roughly 11 million cancer survivors in the U.S. Almost ¼ of Americans will die of cancer. Why cancer Researchers have posited preventable lifestyle factors as determining risk of developing cancer. But only in the mid 1990s did advocacy groups include exercise as a preventive measure alongside other factors such as diet & smoking. Initial cancer research Not that some observers had not noticed a connection between cancer and exercise. For example, Dr. Thomas Cherry studied the relationship between exercise and cancer. He found that people engaging in heavy labor had lower cancer rates than those working in sedentary jobs. In the 1940s Australian researchers found that primitive tribes that labored for food had lower cancer rates than persons in industrialized societies. The problem in concluding that there are good reasons to exercise for cancer was that studies were not well controlled or had too few participants. Also, there were not enough studies to draw blanket conclusions from. Recent research on exercise & cancer Recently long term studies are being examined for information on connections between cancer & exercise. The findings are very promising especially for certain types of cancers & certain levels of exercise. Exercise for cancer is especially helpful when it comes to colon, breast & prostate cancers. Reasons for exercise’s beneficial effects aren’t always clear & different reasons may apply depending on the types of cancers under consideration.
Suggested reasons for the effects of exercise on cancer include speeding elimination (colon cancer), reducing insulin sensitivity thought to contribute to cancer, decreasing body fat & boosting immunity. There appear to be benefits in exercising whether the goal is prevention or post treatment quality of life. In fact for cancer patients, exercise during treatment can also help out if it is engaged in wisely. Another finding is that exercise is preventive & helpful during & post treatment independent of other lifestyle activities. Though people who exercise also tend to eat better, take vitamins, smoke less & weigh less than no exercisers, reducing risk of cancer, the exercise alone has an important role in further reducing the risk of cancer. What’s more though it may be wise to be fit for your entire life, the relationship for cancer and exercise holds even if starting an exercise program later on in life. Depending on many factors, studies on cancer and exercise show that higher intensity & duration of exercise helps even more but what seems most beneficial is moderate exercise. You don’t have to give your life over to the gym to receive the benefits of fitness. In fact, in certain instances, high intensity exercise may work against you. The best advice for now would be to engage in moderate exercise for cancer prevention, treatment and afterward. Exercise on most days, between 20 - 50 minutes duration. Also, it would be best to include strength training, flexibility exercises & holistic programs such as Pilates or yoga to round out your exercise program. See our pages on specific topics regarding exercise especially strength, flexibility, aerobics, Pilates & yoga by going to the navigation bar on page left. Other pages on more specific topics including breast, colon, prostate cancer, prevention, exercise during & post treatment will be added in the coming weeks. 
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