Is exercise the cancer wonder drug?

At least three hours of walking a week can delay or even prevent the disease's progression.

At least three hours of walking a week can delay or even prevent the disease's progression.

Published Aug 30, 2011

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London - Exercise is a “wonder drug” for cancer survivors and may prevent the disease returning, it has been suggested.

Physical activity could also benefit those undergoing treatment for cancer, said Macmillan Cancer Support.

It urges doctors to prescribe exercise rather than telling patients to rest, as in the past.

A review of more than 60 studies for the charity found that being active during treatment does not worsen fatigue and has positive effects on mood and wellbeing.

Once treatment has finished, exercise can reduce the impact of side effects, such as swelling, anxiety, depression, fatigue, impaired mobility and changes to weight.

The research also showed exercise has an impact on preventing recurrence of a few specific cancers.

For example, women with breast cancer who exercise for 150 minutes a week at moderate intensity have more than a 40 percent lower risk of dying and recurrence of disease compared to women who are active for less than one hour a week.

Moderate exercise includes very brisk walking, heavy cleaning - such as washing windows, vacuuming and mopping - mowing the lawn, cycling and badminton.

Macmillan Cancer Support found that more than half of GPs, practice nurses, oncologists and cancer nurses did not speak to their patients about the possible benefits of exercise, or only spoke to a few of them.

The charity’s chief medical officer Jane Maher said: “If physical exercise were a drug, it would be hitting the headlines.

“There really needs to be a cultural change so that health professionals see physical activity as an integral part of cancer aftercare, not just an optional add-on.”

* A gene that sends a woman’s odds of ovarian cancer soaring has been discovered by British scientists.

Women carrying the rogue DNA are more than six times more likely to develop the disease than others.

The discovery is the biggest breakthrough in the genetics of the cancer for a decade and paves the way for better tests and treatments, saving some of the 4,400 lives a year lost to the illness.

Ovarian is the fifth most common cancer in women. - Daily Mail

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