Breast cancer survivors who meet the daily exercise recommendations are at a 25 percent lower risk of dying from breast cancer, a new study finds.
The life of a breast cancer survivor is not easy. Life after a marathon of breast cancer diagnosis and treatments is quite different and calls for many lifestyle changes. Along with changes in diet and other habits, it is often recommended that cancer survivors get adequate exercise.
According to the American Cancer Society Guidelines, all cancer survivors should indulge in 2.5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity per week. In a new study conducted on similar grounds, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers found that breast cancer survivors who meet the daily exercise recommendations, are at a 25 percent lower risk of dying from breast cancer.
For the study, the researchers examined 986 breast cancer survivors as part of the National Runners' and Walkers' Health Study for nine years. During this period, 33 of the 714 walkers and 13 of the 272 runners died from breast cancer. When all participants were taken as a whole, their risk for breast cancer deaths decreased an average of 24 percent per metabolic equivalent (MET) hours per day of exercise (one MET hour equals a little less than a mile of brisk walking or about two-thirds of a mile of running).
However, when statistics were viewed separately, breast cancer mortality was much lower for those who ran than those who walked. The risk for runners decreased to 40 percent per MET hour per day. In fact, breast cancer survivors who are ran two and a quarter miles per day were at a 95 percent lower risk of dying from breast cancer.
Study author Paul Williams clarified that the findings of this study do not disprove a previous study, which stated that walking can reduce breast cancer risks by 14 percent. Williams pointed out that the sample size of this current story is too small compared to the sample size of the previous story to completely overthrow its findings. He does highlight that this current study shows that exceeding the current exercise recommendations is probably better than simply meeting them, and that running may be better than walking.
"If I were a breast cancer survivor, I would certainly consider running or some other vigorous exercise over walking, and I wouldn't just be doing the minimum, with the consequences and potential benefit being so great," he said.
Breast cancer survivors face two very big hurdles post-treament - fatigue resulting from chemotherapy and/or the accumulated effects of other treatments, and a phenomenon some women have dubbed as "chemobrain", which is basically mental changes such as memory deficits and the inability to focus.
A recent study by the Ohio State University found that yoga can help breast cancer survivors overcome fatigue. Researchers also noted that it helps reduce distress, anxiety and depression and enhances the quality of life in cancer survivors.
The American Cancer Society revealed that 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in women in 2013. Currently, there are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
