ATLANTA — A cancer diagnosis often inspires people to exercise and eat healthier. Now experts say there’s strong evidence that both habits may help prevent the disease from coming back.
New guidelines issued Thursday by the American Cancer Society urge doctors to talk to their cancer patients about eating right, exercising and slimming down if they’re too heavy.
That’s not something most doctors do, said Omer Kucuk, an Emory University oncologist who has researched the effect of nutrition on prostate cancer. They’re focused on surgery, chemotherapy or other treatments for their patients, he added.
“Usually, the last thing on their mind is to talk about diet and exercise,” Kucuk said.
Cancer-society officials have long encouraged healthy eating and exercise as a way to prevent certain cancers. They and others have tried to spread that gospel to cancer survivors as well. Indeed, the cancer society has a certification program for fitness professionals who work with cancer survivors.
Until now, the group didn’t think there was enough research to support a strong statement for cancer survivors.
The past five years saw more than 100 studies involving cancer survivors, many of them showing that exercise and/or a healthy diet was associated with lower cancer-recurrence rates and longer survival.
Most of the research was on breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. The evidence is more meager when it comes to other cancers, including the deadliest kind, lung cancer. Also, most of the work involved observational studies, which can’t prove a cause and effect. Still, the volume of research was compelling.
“We’ve got enough data now to make these recommendations,” said Colleen Doyle, the organization’s director of nutrition and physical activity.
