“Exercise may help prevent and control cancer”

Newswise — It's well known that exercise is good for preventing and treating many forms of heart disease, but less commonly known are the benefits of physical activity for people living with and beyond cancer.

A new initiative called Moving Through Cancer -- led by Kathryn Schmitz, professor of public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, and an international team of health practitioners and researchers -- is hoping to change that.

In a paper published today (Oct. 16) in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Schmitz and her fellow researchers outline new exercise recommendations for people living with and beyond cancer.

"With more than 43 million cancer survivors worldwide, we have a growing need to address the unique health issues facing people living with and beyond cancer and better understand how exercise may help prevent and control cancer," said Schmitz, who is also a member of the Penn State Cancer Institute. "This esteemed, multidisciplinary group of leaders on the forefront of exercise oncology aimed to translate the latest scientific evidence into practical recommendations for clinicians and the public and to create global impact through a unified voice."

According to the researchers, exercise is important for cancer prevention and can lower the risk of developing colon, breast, endometrial, kidney, bladder, esophagus and stomach cancers. Exercise during and after cancer treatment can help improve fatigue, anxiety, depression, physical function, and quality of life, and can also help improve survival after a breast, colon or prostate cancer diagnosis.

Depending on the patient's activity levels and abilities, the researchers generally recommend 30 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise three times a week and 20 to 30 minutes of resistance exercise twice a week.

But, Schmitz said health care professionals can also customize exercise prescriptions to individual patients.

"Through our research, we've reached a point where we can give specific FITT exercise prescriptions -- which means frequency, intensity, time and type -- for specific outcomes like quality of life, fatigue, pain and others," Schmitz said. "For example...

 

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