Colon cancer survival soars with regular exercise, shows study that ‘astounded' experts
A three-year exercise programme improved survival in colon cancer patients and kept the disease at bay, a first-of-its-kind international experiment showed.
With the benefits of the programme rivalling some drugs, experts said cancer centres and insurance plans should consider making exercise coaching a new standard of care for colon cancer survivors.
Until then, patients can increase their physical activity after treatment, knowing they are doing their part to prevent cancer from coming back.
'It's an extremely exciting study,' said Dr Jeffrey Meyerhardt of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, in the United States, who was not involved in the research.
Exercise programmes can be offered for several thousand dollars per patient, one expert said – 'a remarkably affordable intervention'. Photo: Shutterstock
It is the first randomised controlled trial to show a reduction in cancer recurrences and improved survival linked to exercise, Meyerhardt said.
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