| Moderate and regular exercise substantially reduces | | | | our work found a significant benefit for patients who |
| the risk that colon cancer will return and patients | | | | exercise, it's important that exercise be seen as a |
| currently undergoing treatment can improve their | | | | supplement to, not a replacement for, standard |
| overall chance of survival. | | | | therapies." |
| This excellent news was reported by Dana-Farber | | | | Results appear particularly robust because the two |
| Cancer Institute scientists in a pair of studies | | | | studies used different sets of data to arrive at their |
| published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in August | | | | shared conclusion. Patients who simply exercised such |
| 2006 but merit repeating because they show definite | | | | as walking 6 hours a week were 47 percent more |
| life prolonging impact by simple exercise in a life | | | | likely to be alive and free of disease than those who |
| critical disease. | | | | were less physically active. |
| The researchers reported colon cancer patients who | | | | Additionally, patients who increased their physical |
| engaged in moderate exercise for 6 to 12 months | | | | activity after colon cancer diagnosis had about a 50 |
| after completing therapy had a 50 percent higher | | | | % less chance of dying from colon cancer or from |
| survival rate than those who didn't exercise. The | | | | other causes than physically inactive patients. |
| improvement took place in patients with very early | | | | Meyerhardt is an assistant professor of medicine at |
| and more advanced (but non-spreading) colon cancer. | | | | Harvard Medical School: "As with any exercise |
| All patients had undergone surgery. | | | | program, people should check with their doctor |
| Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, [Dana-Farber] was the | | | | before increasing their degree of physical activity... to |
| lead author and reported: "From previous studies we | | | | reduce the chances that colon cancer will return after |
| know that regular physical activity reduces the risk of | | | | treatment, as well as for overall health reasons, |
| developing colon cancer, but until now few studies | | | | regular exercise is a good option for survivors to |
| have looked at the survival effect of exercise on | | | | consider. |
| people who have been treated for disease... While | | | | |