Fight Cancer in 60 Minutes: Exercise Saves Lives!

Exercise is a powerful tool that significantly reduces cancer progression and mortality.

Highlights:

Moderate physical activity reduces cancer mortality by up to 47%
Even 60 minutes weekly of moderate exercise shows significant benefits
Exercise enhances immune function and reduces inflammation, aiding cancer management

In the fight against cancer, exercise proves to be a powerful ally. Just 60 minutes of moderate physical activity each week can significantly reduce the risk of cancer progression and improve survival outcomes. Exercise has been linked to many health benefits through the years, however, its effects on cancer and its treatment are now being given more consideration. New evidence from scientific literature indicates that exercise training lowers the risk of development of cancer and cancer death, which makes regular physical activity an effective intervention ().

Exercise in the Morning to Prevent Cancer
Physical activity done in the morning around 8am -10am throughout lifetime can reduce cancer risk. Researchers have found that time of the day of physical activity plays a crucial role in preventing the development of cancer risk.

‘Did You Know?
Regular physical activity reduces cancer progression by 27% and mortality by 47%, even with just 60 minutes of moderate activity weekly! #exercise #cancerprevention’

Connection between Physical Activity and Cancer Treatment

Unfortunately, Cancer still remains the second cause of death in the world; that’s why researchers pay much attention to the development of new effective prevention measures as well as treatment methods.

One such area is the exercise and its implication on cancer prognosis. The first review carried out in the British Journal of Sports Medicine analyzed the effect of physical activity before a cancer diagnosis on its development and survival.

The research involved data on 28,607 participants in South Africa with stage 1 cancer. While it is a longitudinal observational study with a retrospective study design, the data were collected from the anonymized records of the participants of the Discovery Health Medical Scheme and their participation in the Vitality health promotion program.

Participants were categorized based on their physical activity levels prior to diagnosis:

No activity: No physical exercise observed in the sample patient.
Low activity: for 1–59 minutes/week of activity.
Moderate to high activity: Activity at least one hour per week.

The findings revealed that individuals who engaged in moderate to high levels of physical activity were:

27% less likely to develop or progress cancer.
Of those with raised levels of aerobic capacity, 47% are less likely to die from any cause.
Low-activity individuals also reported gain, a 16% risk reduction in cancer progression, and 33% of death compared to their counterparts who were sedentary.

Aerobic Exercise can Prevent the Spread of Cancer
Exercise benefits cancer patients by preventing the spread of cancer

Benefits of Exercise in Different Types of Cancers

In particular, when analyzing different types of cancer, such as breast, prostate, and skin cancers, different amounts of benefit were seen.

For example:

Prostate cancer progression yielded the largest improvement at the lowest levels of physical activity with the stepper shape.
It was identified that low as well as moderate to high physical activity levels have similar beneficial effects on skin cancer outcomes.
These findings show that exercise – any amount of it – has a multiplicity of positive effects on the body.

The study emphasizes exercise as an effective, feasible approach to enhance the cancer outcome. Therefore, they can improve many factors that may directly affect the body's ability to prevent cancer, such as improved immunity or inflammation and oxidative stress regulation.

Exercise Helps Cancer Patients Deal With Fatigue
Mild exercise coupled with psychological intervention helps cancer patients deal with treatment or disease related fatigue.

Limitations and Considerations of the Research

While the findings are promising, they come with caveats:

Causality: The research itself does not necessarily make exhaustive links between exercising and the slowdown of cancer.
Data gaps: Some of the missing data include participants' BMI, smoking, and level of activity after the diagnosis.
Population bias: The study was conducted on people who had private car insurance, hence not a cross-section of the population.

Exercise is Medicine for Cancer and Every Minute Counts
Study shows that exercising even a little bit can suppress the growth of tumors even in those in the advanced stages of prostate cancer.

Exercise as Medicine: Advice for Cancer Patients

According to the study author Dr Jon Patricios a specialist in sports and exercise medicine said that exercise needs to be included as part of cancer management. He also highlighted the fact that people can gain a lot simply through 60 minutes of moderate exercise weekly since cancer progression risk can be lowered by 27% while mortality by 47%.

According to WHO, moderate-intensity exercise should be exercised for at least 150 minutes a week. Nevertheless, it will make a great difference even with relatively small quantities.

The studies highlighted show the effectiveness of exercise in implementing cancer treatment. It was recommended that healthcare professionals embrace physical activity as part of the treatment plan, enabling the patients to play an active part in the treatment modalities.

Through being fit and exercising, people not only gain better health but, have a better prognosis of surviving and living better after being diagnosed with the disease.

While more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between exercise and cancer outcomes, the current findings offer hope and a clear message: In fact, exercise cross-cuts all, is not just an option of living, but an ally for the conquest of cancer.

Reference:

Association between recorded physical activity and cancer progression or mortality in individuals diagnosed with cancer in South Africa - (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/01/02/bjsports-2024-108813)

Source-Medindia