Walking Away From Cancer

We are all well aware of the role the physical activity plays in our well-being. For many serious medical conditions physical exercises do work better than prescription drugs. Our body has an amazing potential for self-repair which we often tend to ignore. Keeping ourselves in shape helps to support the body repair system  and thus tends to prevent a variety of severe and chronic medical conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases and musculoskeletal disorders.

It is already proven beyond doubts that being active significantly reduces the risk of cancer. The definition of “being active” is, however, quite different for people of different ages and health status. You can’t expect the same level of physical activity from, let’s say, 40 years old busy professional and 70 years old retiree. How much exercises is really enough to make sure that the risk of cancer is kept as low as possible? This question is not easy to answer. But some recently emerging evidences suggest that even basic simple physical activities such as walking do help in cancer prevention.

Simple physical activities and breast cancer

Interesting findings were published this year by researchers from Atlanta who investigated the relation between the physical activity and the breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women.

Breast cancer is the most common type of malignancies in women around the world. Lots of research has been done to address various questions about its development, prevention, control and treatment. Breast cancers may be hormonally developed, genetically programmed or developed as a result of environmental oncogenic exposures. Women who are in the post-menopausal phase of their lives have a greater risk of cancer development, and the changes in the female sex hormone level at this age may be associated with this increased predisposition. Keeping up a basal level of exercise can decrease the amount of estrogen in the blood and hence decrease the likelihood of developing the breast cancer.

Read More: Physical Activity Reduces Chances Of Cancer

In this study, researchers followed 73,615 women aged 50 to 74 and recruited for the study 20 years ago. Every two years the participants were filling questionnaires aimed to assess their lifestyle. Among all participants, 47% claimed that walking was their only recreational activity. Nevertheless, the frequency of breast cancer events was 14% lower among these women than among those who did not walk and haven’t done any other exercises. Walking just seven hours per week has afforded this increased level of protection. The frequency of breast cancer was even lower among those who were participating in physical and sporting activities more often.

Regular Walking Reduces Risk For Several Types Of Cancer

Breast cancer is not the only malignant disease that can be prevented by such simple exercise as walking. The data on colorectal cancer show a similar trend.

Colorectal cancer is the most common gastrointestinal cancer that affects a significant proportion of population, especially those at more advanced age. Recent research has shown that exercise has its effect in decreasing the likelihood of this disease as well. A regular exercise stimulates bowel motility, which decreases the likelihood of diet-derived carcinogens to come in contact with the bowel wall. This, in turn, reduces the risk of cancerous changes in the bowel.

Much work is going on to find the correlation between physical exercise and cancer prevention, but the exact mechanisms rendering the cancer protection are yet to be elucidated. What exercise to do and how much to do is another question that is often asked. It seems that even simple recreational activity can greatly reduce the risk of colorectal cancers.

A cross-sectional study was carried out back in 2009 demonstrated the usefulness of simple exercise in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The study has shown that brisk walking can reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer by 40%. The study was based on 7 hours of walking per week, i.e. one hour daily.

The study has also shown that the brisk walking or similar physical exercise for 4 hours per week increase the longevity of the individual affected by colorectal cancer, and these simple exercises enhances the efficacy of the cancer treatment. The mortality in patients performing recreational activities was greatly reduced before and after the diagnosis of colorectal cancers, whereas longer leisure time spent sitting correlated with higher mortality rates. That is why physiotherapists and doctors advise a daily exercise of one hour to keep a basal level of fitness.

Simple lifestyle modifications can prevent fatal diseases

Not all of us are keen sportsmen. Many people find it hard to engage in serious physical exercises on a regular basis. The huge amount of gym membership that were once bought and hardly even used confirms how difficult is to implement good intentions into daily routine.

But for proper functioning our body needs to stay active, and it doesn’t really matter how. Walking every day is a very good practice which is relatively easy to incorporate into our busy schedule. One can try walking instead of driving whenever possible. Cycling which is so popular in many countries is another good method of keeping ones muscles in tone and body fat in control. Shorter lapses of exercising, such as 10 minutes of exercise 3 times a day, might be easier to afford.

Read More: Endometrial Cancer: Scientists Find Protective Role Of Exercise, Low-Fat Diet, And Coffee

Walking helps to cancer survivors

Exercise is not only beneficial for healthy people but it also has a positive effect on the longevity of cancer survivors. Clearly, a cancer patient wants to prevent its recurrence as much as possible. Some of the benefits of exercise include greater muscle strength, decreased body fat and hence decreased weight gain. Women going through different forms of exercise after completing their breast cancer treatment are known to live better, longer and have a decreased rate of cancer recurrence. Walking greatly helps to post-surgical women who recover from this disease.

Like all forms of physical activity, walking is beneficial for our health. Its contribution to the cancer prevention should be taken seriously, particularly by those who have little free time for regular sporting activities. Walking can be particularly beneficial for older people who can’t engage in more demanding physical exercises anymore.