People who’ve survived cancer and are dealing with side effects of treatment, financial worries and psychological issues surely have other things on their mind than whether they’re eating enough fruits and vegetables and working out. So it’s not terribly shocking that cancer survivors aren’t doing much better than the general population at staying at a healthy weight, getting enough exercise, avoiding tobacco use and eating a healthful diet.
In fact, new information from the American Cancer Society shows that only about 1 in 20 survivors is meeting all three lifestyle recommendations: accumulating 150 minutes of moderate or 60 minutes of vigorous exercise a week, eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and eschewing tobacco. This isn’t just an American problem; recently, a study in the journal Cancer revealed that fewer than 22 percent of Canadian cancer survivors were physically active, while more than 18 percent were obese.
The studies didn’t ask why survivors aren’t sticking to the recommendations, but you can imagine many reasons: Some might still be recovering from treatments that cause fatigue or weight gain or reduced heart or lung function; others are on drugs (like aromatase inhibitors for breast cancer) that cause muscle fatigue. Let alone the stress that may cause some people to smoke or overeat.
But clearly, the message isn’t getting out that there are real benefits to be gained by adhering to these recommendations. The positive impact on well-being and daily functioning is well established. The ACS study found that the more health-behavior recommendations the survivors followed, the better they rated their health-related quality of life. People who exercise regularly seem to tolerate treatment better, have fewer side effects, and just plain feel better than those who don’t, says Jeff Meyerhardt, a gastrointestinal oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Exercise is even helpful in reducing fatigue.
Less clear is whether lifestyle measures can actually cut the chances that the cancer will recur, a field of research that’s relatively new but appears promising.
