Exercise as part of cancer treatment

In a first, a national cancer organization has issued formal guidelines recommending exercise as part of cancer treatment, for all cancer patients. The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) is very clear on the directive. Its recommendations are:

Exercise should be embedded as part of standard practice in cancer care and viewed as an adjunct therapy that helps counteract the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment.
All members of the multi-disciplinary cancer team should promote physical activity and help their patients adhere to exercise guidelines.
Best practice cancer care should include referral to an accredited exercise physiologist and/or physical therapist with experience in cancer care.

Lead author of the statement, clinical researcher and exercise physiologist, and chair of the COSA Exercise Cancer guidelines committee, Dr. Prue Cormie is also very clear in her statement to the press:
“If we could turn the benefits of exercise into a pill it would be demanded by patients, prescribed by every cancer specialist and subsidized by government. It would be seen as a major breakthrough in cancer treatment.”
The evidence on benefits of exercise during cancer treatment
On the research supporting the bold guidelines, Dr. Cormie states: “the level of evidence is really indisputable and withholding exercise from patients is probably harmful.”
She is correct. There are hundreds of studies showing real, tangible benefits of exercise for patients w...

Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 13, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Cancer Exercise and Fitness Health Source Type: blogs