Two Cancers Where Exercise Prolongs Life

I’m always telling people to exercise more.  Now there are two examples showing there’s no need to give up exercise, just because you have cancer.  The first report concerns colon cancer, the second prostate cancer.

The study reported in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention was done at the University of Washington at St Louis.  More than 150,000 men and women provided the data. Over a 15-year period, there were 1,386 diagnoses of colon cancer, and 602 fatal cases.  Consistent above-average levels of physical activity over the 15 years was associated with half the risk of colon cancer death, compared with below-average physical activity.  However, it had no association with the actual incidence of (i.e. diagnosis of) colon cancer.

The second study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, comes from Harvard School of Public Health.  More than 2,700 men diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer were followed for 18 years, to evaluate physical activity and time to overall and cancer-specific death.  Analyses showed that any type of regular exercise improved overall survival, regardless of intensity.  However, those men who walked for at least 90 minutes a week at a normal or brisk pace were 46% less likely to die from any cause compared to those who walked for less time and/or at a slower pace.  And those taking vigorous exercise (at least 3 hours of intensive exercise a week) had a 61% lower chance of dying from prostate cancer than those doing one hour or less of easy exercises.

These two studies are probably only the ‘tip-of-the-iceberg’.  Just as surely that plenty of exercise prolongs life in general, there’s no reason to think it won’t also prolong longevity in people with chronic diseases, as well as in cancer victims.