Exercise for prostate cancerBenefits of exercise for prostate cancer, cancer prevention exercise & how to exercise during & post cancer treatment follows.
Our umbrella page on cancer & exercise Current cancer patients & exercise Uterine, ovarian, endometrial & lung cancer and exercise Before getting into exercise for prostate cancer a few important facts about it. The prostate is a gland, about the size of a walnut, nestled under the bladder and close to the rectum. Prostate cancer statistics About ¼ million cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed yearly in the U.S. with the death rate approaching 50,000 per year. Over 80% of the cases are diagnosed in men over 65 years old. African American men have a much higher risk of prostate cancer than white men. Prostate cancer is much more prevalent in North America and northwest Europe & rare in the Near East, Africa, South & Central America. Studies of immigrant suggest that lifestyle factors play an important role in the development of prostate cancer. For example, Chinese & Japanese Americans have much higher prostate cancer rates than their brethren in Asia. Most studies on the relationship between prostate cancer & exercise suggest that exercise reduces prostate cancer risks. However, the evidence of the protective effects of exercise is not as powerful as for example it is with colon cancer or breast cancer. Studies on prostate cancer & exercise
Despite conflicting results, a few well designed, large scale studies have pointed to the value of prostate cancer prevention exercise.* In Norway, researchers studied 53,242 men & found that active men reduced prostate cancer risk. The effects of exercise prostate cancer exercise was a 50% reduction. * A Harvard alumni study found very active men to have reduced prostate cancer. The reduction in cancer by exercise was 47%. * Another study by Dr, Susan Olivieri found the highest fitness group to have a 74% reduced risk of prostate cancer. Cancer prevention exercise was even obtained by moderate exercisers (50% reduction) * The Health Professional’s Follow-Up Study found exercise prostate cancer rates by 30%. Note that benefits of exercise for prostate cancer were generally found for men over the age of 60. Why that is so, is related to explanations for the why there is a link between prostate cancer & exercise. Why exercise reduces prostate cancerStudies suggest that high testosterone levels increase prostate cancer risk. So, in lab studies, animals injected with testosterone developed higher rates of prostate cancer.African Americans have testosterone levels 15% higher than other men & have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world. Exercise suppresses testosterone levels thereby protecting exercisers from prostate cancer. * Getting back to why older men would be at the highest risk of prostate cancer, the risk of prostate cancer probably comes from years of exposure to testosterone. That would not occur in younger men. But for older men, exercise cuts back on further exposure to testosterone which may provoke prostate cancer. That’s why the effect of exercise on prostate cancer holds for them but not for their younger counterparts, yet. My speculation is that studies that did not find a link between exercise and prostate cancer may have design flaws or perhaps older exercisers may have been engaged in activities that raised testosterone levels so there were no protective effects to their exercise. So too, older sedentary men may have possessed low levels of testosterone for various reasons so their risk of prostate cancer did not go up. * There are other reasons for the positive effects of exercise on prostate cancer such as its boosting the immune system * Stress is also related to cancer formation & exercise, done moderately & correctly, is a great stress buster. Prevention, during cancer therapy & postProstate cancer prevention exercise is probably a good idea for all men but especially for those at risk. That would include those with a family history of prostate cancer & African American men.The key is to exercise as you move into your Golden years. A good idea is to be exercising by the time you hit your 50s if you haven’t been doing so already. Exercise moderately, consistently. Emphasize aerobics & sports appropriate to your fitness level. Tennis, golf & yoga would be good choices. Exercising during treatment for prostate cancer & post treatment is also recommended unless there are compelling medical reasons not to exercise. However, during & post treatment, make sure that other lifestyle choices are wise ones. Eat healthy & make absolutely certain that you are getting enough sleep. For exercise options, see navigation bar topics, page left. 
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