Cancer can make you feel like you've lost control of your life and that you're doomed.
But recent research is showing all the advancements in treatment.
Some of them are free and easy…
Like exercise.
Exercise improves everything. And apparently there is more research showing it can help with cancer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnRQRIInP2g
Here is a summary of the key points of this podcast:
Exercise for Cancer Prevention and Treatment
• Exercise is highly beneficial for both preventing cancer and improving outcomes during treatment [00:24]. It is noted that, historically, many oncologists advised against exercise for cancer patients, but current understanding supports its use.
• For people diagnosed with colorectal or breast cancer, exercising is associated with:
• 40% less likelihood of cancer recurrence [04:27].
• 63% less likelihood of dying from their cancer [04:30].
Mechanisms by Which Exercise Kills Cancer Cells
1. Immune System Enhancement: Exercise improves and increases the number of immune cells that can kill cancer cells, such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer T cells [00:59].
2. Differential Stress Resistance (Hormesis):
• Cancer cells are inherently "stressed" and primed to die, needing only a push (like a chemo drug) [02:17].
• Exercise is a beneficial stress (called hormetic stress). Normal cells respond to this stress by adapting—they increase antioxidant and anti-inflammatory genes, leading to a net anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect [06:31].
• Cancer cells, however, cannot adapt because they are mutated. The stress of exercise overwhelms them, causing them to die [07:22].
3. Mechanical Shearing Force:
• Exercise increases blood flow, which creates a shearing force. This force can directly kill circulating tumor cells (cells that have left the primary tumor site and are in the vascular system) because they cannot withstand the mechanical stress [03:55]. This helps to stop metastasis (the spread of cancer) [04:57].
4. Metabolic Health: Exercise improves metabolic health, which is crucial since many cancers (like the 13 associated with obesity) are connected to factors like glucose, insulin, and hormones [05:14].
The video notes that while breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers are the most studied and seem highly receptive to exercise, it is likely beneficial for most, if not all, types of cancer [09:47].
So in a time of a loss of control, exercise gives you an option you can control that will improve your health and mortality.