Walking can boost chances of surviving cancer

BRISK walking may cut the risk of dying from cancer, even in more advanced stages of the disease, research suggests.

Two new studies presented at the world’s biggest cancer conference show that exercise could be a powerful tool, helping to slow down the disease and cut the risk of death.

Just 25 minutes a day of brisk walking is enough to drive improvements, the research suggests.

Following a healthy diet with five portions a day of fruit and vegetables and eating whole grains was also shown to help.

The research, presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago, involved patients with bowel and breast cancer.

In the first study, 337 women newly-diagnosed with breast cancer who had undergone surgery to remove tumours were split into two groups.

For eight months, one group was told to follow an exercise programme of 180 minutes a week of moderateintensity exercise.

The second group received standard care.

Over a typical follow-up of eight years, the results showed that exercise had “clear potential to influence survival”.

Sandra Haye, senior research fellow at the Queensland University of Technology, who conducted the study, said most women used walking as their most common form of exercise, with some adding resistance training – such as weights or cross training – into the mix.

She said studies on other cancers, such as bowel and prostate cancer, have also shown a beneficial effect of exercise.