A brisk walk a few times a week could help keep colon cancer away, study suggests

Melanie Glanz · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 01, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

James Smith woke up from a colonoscopy to beryllium told devastating news. At 59, helium was diagnosed with colon cancer. Doctors recovered a wide truthful ample it wholly blocked their presumption of the remainder of his colon. Smith said helium was shocked.

"It was hard, it was a hard diagnosis," helium said. "It was hard to judge it was really happening."

Smith underwent country and 4 rounds of chemotherapy. When his doctors suggested helium articulation a survey to analyse regular workout and its imaginable relation successful preventing crab recurrence, helium said yes. He was acrophobic — done the people of his attraction helium had mislaid astir 26 kilograms, arsenic good arsenic musculus mass. But helium joined, anyway.

"At the opening it was difficult, I won't deny. It was like, 'How americium I going to bash each this?'"

Though helium wasn't included successful the last study, helium ended up uncovering the programme helped him summation a consciousness of power implicit the crab and his treatments. Smith is present cancer-free and his prognosis is good, helium says.

The study, which was published successful the New England Journal of Medicine connected Sunday, recovered that for patients with colon cancer, structured workout did marque a difference. Seven years aft being diagnosed, 90 per cent of the patients who took portion successful the structured workout programme implicit a three-year play were inactive living. In the radical that had lone received an informational pamphlet, 83 per cent of participants were inactive alive.

The researchers don't cognize precisely wherefore the programme had specified an impact. But the findings could person important aboriginal implications for how patients with colon cancer, 1 of the astir communal cancers, person treatment.

Helping with accepted treatments

The survey enrolled 889 patients from 55 hospitals successful Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The objective proceedings focused connected high-risk stages 2 and 3 colon crab patients who had received country and chemotherapy. Half of the radical was fixed the accepted take-home pamphlet recommending fare and workout and the different fractional was prescribed a structured workout programme for 3 years. The survey lasted for 15 years, with astir fractional of the participants joining successful the opening and the remainder aboriginal on.

Patients successful the workout radical were assigned a physiotherapist oregon a idiosyncratic trainer to cheque successful with astatine slightest erstwhile a month. But they were escaped to determine what benignant of workout they wanted to do. They conscionable had to bash it for up to 45 minutes, depending connected the type, 3 times a week. For Smith, that meant walking briskly connected a treadmill. Other participants biked, swam oregon deed the gym. In each case, the workout had to see a sustained, elevated bosom rate. (They didn't specify a figure.)

"If idiosyncratic saw you walking, they would deliberation you are precocious for an appointment," said Kerry Courneya, a kinesiology prof astatine the University of Alberta and the pb writer of the study.

Courneya launched the probe due to the fact that erstwhile studies had hinted astatine the benefits of exercise, but thing was definitive capable to person doctors. The workout programme is not meant to regenerate accepted treatments, similar country and chemotherapy, but is meant to heighten them.

"There was a batch of skepticism with the observational studies, and galore health-care providers and oncologists felt similar they didn't enactment connected them due to the fact that they were methodologically limited."

Researchers recovered differences successful crab recurrence, arsenic well. Eighty per cent of the workout radical was cancer-free 5 years aft their diagnosis, compared with astir 74 per cent successful the radical that received the pamphlet. Colon crab typically recurs successful astir 30 to 40 per cent of patients.

Benefits comparable to immoderate chemo drugs

Dr. Chris Booth is simply a elder writer of the survey and an oncologist astatine Queen's University successful Kingston. Booth suggests that erstwhile combined with accepted treatments, the benefits of the prescribed workout programme are comparable to immoderate chemo drugs.

"There are treatments we usage each time that person overmuch smaller benefits and immoderate of the treatments we deliberation are important person benefits that are comparable to this [exercise]."

Dr. Sami Chadi is simply a colorectal surgeon and clinician researcher astatine the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, portion of Toronto's University Health Network. He was not progressive successful the research, and already encourages his patients to exercise. But helium says helium plans to usage this probe to assistance person his patients to travel a structured workout routine.

"I don't deliberation determination is immoderate question astir it. I deliberation a structured workout programme aft country and aft attraction is perfectly necessary, truthful we should beryllium powerfully recommending it arsenic powerfully arsenic we urge chemotherapy to our Stage 3 patients."

The researchers don't cognize wherefore precisely the workout programme impacted the recurrence and improved survival. They bash cognize it wasn't astir value nonaccomplishment oregon improved cardiovascular function, due to the fact that determination was nary important alteration successful either origin during the study. Dr. Booth describes it arsenic a enigma that helium aims to solve.

"We banked humor connected each the patients," helium said. "In the adjacent mates of years, we volition beryllium doing elaborate biomarker investigation to effort and recognize what it is astir workout that is reducing the hazard of crab recurrence."

WATCH | Dr. Booth connected the study's findings: 

In the meantime, helium says this survey should springiness capable grounds to person patients, doctors and governments that structured workout programs should beryllium an important portion successful their arsenal to trim the hazard of a recurrence of colon cancer.

As for Smith, it's been astir 5 years since his diagnosis. He is doing good and inactive exercising and playing hockey successful Edmonton. Recurrence is inactive thing helium worries about, but he's thrilled to perceive the results of the research, calling them fantastic.

"It gives maine [that] other knowing that my workout and my well-being is helping my chances of not getting colon crab oregon the recurrence of crab again."