A slightly jokey title. It’s not new and it doesn’t “beat” chemo but shows it up as hollow and worthless! Look it’s about the place of exercize in beating the cancer odds. Exercize is not new. But it also doesn’t cost $100,000s for a “course” of therapy, which is why you’ve never heard of it in this context.
Those of you who have been with me for some years know that one of my teachings is: ANY GOOD HEALTH MEASURE IS AN ANTI-CANCER MEASURE!
They are not separate issues at all.
I have also said, often, that cancer need not be a death knell. BUT IT IS A WAKEUP CALL (I’ve lately seen other people steal that idea and pass it off as their own). It’s telling you that your health is in tatters. You need to answer the call and shape up. Otherwise you may be for it. But if you help your body to recover, it will help you.
Our biological selves are superb machines, designed and run by nature. Looked after, the way nature intended, bodies are well-oiled, self-correcting entities and can heal. BODIES DO HEAL.
But we mess up the process by unnatural processes, such as a sedentary lifestyle, toxic environmental chemicals, crappy and nutritionally-inadequate foods, disgusting psychological stressors (such as TV advertizing blare, “news”, porn and social media), artificial hormone disruptors and electromagnetic “pollution”.
In reverse, that means if we act to mitigate some of these poisons, we start correcting towards normality, which at its high end is a life of vitality, joy, ease and motion.
ANYTHING you do to achieve optimal is worthwhile. The more you do, the better the outcome. And, YES, the one that gets missed most often is adequate healthy exercize. The opposite tends to happen. Someone is chronically ill or in danger from cancer and they are supposed to “take it easy” and “look after themselves”!
Wrong call!
Now before you back off, let me tell you that the level of exercize required to help retune your body is not arduous. I do the recommended amount each week just for pure pleasure. I enjoy doing what I’m supposed to be doing and my body responds by “singing” a kind of tune with a beat. When I stride along, there’s a kind of rhythm that feels natural, indeed harmonious!
Something about the deep down walking music is a kind of expression of living.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no exercize nerd. I NEVER go to the gymn. I don’t have fancy “kit” or a yoga mat! I recently tried to climb a mountain in the UK and had to give up! In shame, I realized that at 80 I could no longer do what I could do easily 20 years ago.
Anyway, let’s move on to the cancer connection.
A landmark international study, known as the CHALLENGE trial, provides compelling evidence on the positive impact of exercise post-cancer treatment. Involving 889 colon cancer patients across six countries, the study revealed that participants who engaged in a supervised exercise program experienced a 28% reduction in cancer recurrence and a 37% decrease in mortality over eight years compared to those receiving only standard health advice. The exercise regimen included activities like brisk walking, tailored to individual preferences, and was supported by regular coaching sessions.
As well as showing that exercise can cut the risk of death and cancer recurrence, the results of the study highlight the importance of personalized support in helping people develop the right routine for them.
“For an intervention that isn’t a drug, exercise offers remarkable benefits for patients,” said Professor Charles Swanton, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK. “For some people with colon cancer, physical activity can be a game-changer that shifts the course of their recovery.”
All 889 participants were well enough to exercise when they joined, but none of them were meeting recommended activity levels.
Patients had already finished their cancer treatment, which included surgery and chemotherapy, but they still faced a risk that their cancer could come back. The researchers wanted to see if increasing their activity levels would help them stay well.
Half of the people who took part received standard health education materials with guidance on exercise and healthy eating, while the rest were given additional support from a trainer, pushing to help them reach a weekly exercise target.
After five years, 80% of people supported by a trainer remained cancer free, compared with 74% of those who were given the standard booklets. At eight years, 90% of people supported by a trainer were still alive, up from 83% in the health education materials group.
Professor Vicky Coyle at the University of Belfast, who led the research in the UK, said:?“During the trial, we supported people to reach their weekly exercise target in a way that worked for them. This could be a brisk walk for around 40 minutes every day, but some patients were also doing circuit classes, cycling, swimming, and many other activities.?
“Our study gives clear, encouraging evidence that physical activity can reduce the risk of cancer returning for some people with colon cancer. We now need to work with policymakers and healthcare providers to embed exercise into treatment plans where appropriate.”¹
Well, if that means interference with the oncology industries obscene profit, I wouldn’t hold my breath Vicky! But, point taken.
In case you are wondering, this is not the only evidence of the benefits of exercize to cancer patients.
Complementing these findings, a comprehensive meta-analysis encompassing 151 cohorts and nearly 1.5 million cancer patients demonstrated that post-diagnosis physical activity is associated with significantly lower cancer-specific mortality across multiple cancer types. Notably, breast cancer patients engaging in regular exercise exhibited a 31% reduction in mortality risk, while prostate and colorectal cancer patients saw reductions of 27% and 29%, respectively.²
Reasons
The study wasn’t designed to figure out WHY exercize was helpful but if you understand my any-good-health-measure quote from above, you’ll see it doesn’t really matter.
But growing evidence suggests that physical activity may play a critical role in modulating multiple aging-related processes in general and improving cancer survival in particular. Beyond its well-documented benefits for cardiovascular and metabolic health, physical activity exerts profound anti-aging effects at the cellular and metabolic levels.
Regular exercise has been shown to reduce chronic inflammation, prevent cellular senescence, enhance mitochondrial function, maintain genomic stability (such as the demethylation of tumor suppressor genes like L3MBTL1, so enhancing their expression), regulate hormones like insulin and estrogen (which, in excess, can promote tumor growth) and, finally, to improve immune surveillance (aiding in the detection and elimination of malignant cells)— mechanisms that are intricately linked to both aging and cancer progression.
By interfering with these fundamental drivers of aging, physical activity may slow cancer progression and improve survival outcomes.³
All Other Health Measures Apply!
ANY good health measure is an anti-cancer measure. Learn that as a mantra.
Keep stress down, get love into your life, be content with what you have, even while wanting more.
Eat right and, from me, that means eliminating what I call bandit foods.
Take in more fiber. A high-fiber diet has been linked to improved responses to immunotherapy in melanoma patients, with 77% of those on a high-fiber diet responding positively compared to 29% on a lower-fiber diet.
Get your weight to reasonable levels. Maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise reduces the risk of getting various cancers. There may be an “ideal” weight for you and that may seem hard to achieve. But don’t give up altogether, as people often do.
Conclusion
Moderate exercise emerges as a powerful, non-pharmacological intervention in cancer care, offering significant improvements in survival and quality of life. As research continues to elucidate the mechanisms by which physical activity influences cancer outcomes, it becomes increasingly clear that promoting general health measures, including regular exercise, right diet and a stress-free life is essential in the fight against cancer.
Don’t forget the preventative aspect too!
To your good health,
Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby
The Official Alternative Doctor
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Get your copy here.
References:
- https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2025/06/01/structured-exercise-improves-colon-cancer-survival/
- Ungvari, Z., Fekete, M., Varga, P. et al. Exercise and survival benefit in cancer patients: evidence from a comprehensive meta-analysis. GeroScience (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-025-01647-0
- ibid.
