A new hope for those with cancer.
Cancer survival rates have reached new heights, with 70% of patients diagnosed hitting the five-year survival mark.
Now, new research shows one particular habit could greatly help both those recently diagnosed and people in remission by adding a few more years to their lives.
The benefits of regular exercise have long been recognized, from improving cardiovascular health to slashing the risk of premature death.
And the rewards continue to stack up, as a major study found that starting or continuing physical activity after a cancer diagnosis is linked to a lower risk of dying from the disease.
“Physical activity has a significant benefit to cancer patients at any stage in their cancer journey,” Dr. Susan Maltser, director of the Cancer Rehabilitation Program, Northwell Health, told The Post.
“We know that before they start treatment, during treatment, after treatment and for life, physical activity and exercise have a significant impact not just on their well-being, but a lot of times, in their cancer trajectory,” she said.
The research, published in the journal Nutrition, Obesity, and Exercise, looked at data from over 17,000 survivors of several less-studied but common cancers, including bladder, lung, oral, ovarian and rectal cancer.
Maltser explained that moderate to vigorous physical activity improves the chances of cancer survival on both macro and micro levels.
“Cancer and cancer treatment knock you down,” she explained. “If you can keep your muscles strong, if you can keep yourself from being frail, whatever is going to knock you down, you can withstand it.”
Exercise also affects people in microscopic ways to prevent cancer from recurring.
“On the micro level, exercise is anti-inflammatory,” Maltser said. “Whatever we’re doing, anti-inflammatory affects us on the microscopic level. It alters our makeup in terms of our biochemistry and cell signaling pathways.”
But pumping some iron or going for a walk isn’t just beneficial for those diagnosed — survivors also benefit for two big reasons, Maltser explained: building back muscles and patient-specific treatment.
“We lose muscle mass from very little activity, so building that muscle mass up is important,” she said. “For some conditions, exercise can actually be a treatment. Cancer patients have very specific impairments, as we call them, depending on the cancer.”
For example, breast cancer patients can sometimes have difficulty with shoulder motion, while those with lung cancer may have trouble breathing.
“We also know that for some cancers, specifically breast cancer, exercise can even help prevent recurrence,” Maltser added. “It decreases fat, and fat secretes estrogen. There are some breast cancers that kind of feed off estrogen. So keeping your body lean is really important.”
Everyone can reap the benefits of being physically active, regardless of age or current activity level.
“It’s never too late to start exercising,” Maltser said. “It’s never too late to build back muscle mass. It’s possible. The body is a remarkable thing. It’s never too late.”
