Exercise boosts colon cancer survival
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- Reviewed by Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Studies have already shown that doing lots of aerobic exercise — the kind that works your heart and lungs — helps prevent colon cancer. Exercise also helps you survive the disease if you get it, found a randomized controlled trial published online June 1, 2025, by The New England Journal of Medicine.
Scientists recruited about 900 people with colon cancer who’d recently had surgery and chemotherapy. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Those in one group received health information materials. People in the other group took part in a three-year structured exercise program guided by exercise coaches. These participants could do any type of exercise, such as brisk walking (aiming for three or four 45-minute walks per week). Over an average follow-up of nearly eight years, the people in the exercise program had about 30% better odds of surviving. One way regular aerobic exercise might protect against both cancer and cancer-related death is by reducing inflammation, which increases the risk of cancer as well as many other chronic diseases. If you can, aim for 150 to 300 minutes per week of aerobic activity for overall health. To prevent or fight cancer, the American Cancer Society recommends doing at least 300 minutes per week.
Image: © Tatiana Maksimova /Getty Images
About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
About the Reviewer
Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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