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OCTOBER 2, 2015
BONUS BLOG SPOT Posted by oncologist James Salwitz, MD on August 1, 2013, at sunriserounds.com (Edited)
Exercise is a powerful tool in the fight against cancer I
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7
es, October 7 is National Walk/Bike to School Day. Why should kids walk to school or ride their bikes? Because it’s fun. Because it’s healthy. Because it contributes to cleaner, safer communities: walking or biking instead of driving reduces air pollution and traffic congestion. Saving gas saves money too. Walking builds a sense of community. How many children — or their parents, for that matter — know anyone in their neighborhood who lives farther away than one or two doors? Children today get far less exercise than their parents did at the same age, which is one of the reasons why the current generation of young people is projected to be the first generation ever with a shorter lifespan than their parents and grandparents. The majority of parents reading this walked or biked to school when they were young — and they survived! “Oh, but we live in dangerous times now, a different world.” While that may be true in a number of ways, one study found that 99.5% of Americans will never experience any violent crime. The common fear — kidnappings — are extremely rare. Statistically, it’s safer on that score today than it has been since gas was 29 cents a gallon and TVs were all black and white. In fact, slightly more than 100 children are kidnapped by strangers every year in the U.S. By contrast, thousands are kidnapped by family members or acquaintances, and thousands more are killed in car accidents as passengers. In short, walking is safe, far safer than riding in a car. Of course, walking or biking to school doesn’t necessarily mean Please see WALK page 2
Tired of scrubs that don’t fit?
f you had cancer, how good would a treatment have to be, how much would it have to help, for you to use it? How about if it gave you a 5% better chance of cure? A 10% chance? How about a 20% chance to be beat the disease using a treatment that is free of charge and without side effects? “Sign me up,” you say? Nonetheless, only 8% of breast cancer patients use a therapy that has a 25% likelihood of curing them of the dread disease. Ridiculous, but true. What is this magic intervention estimated by the World Health Organization to reduce the risk of getting breast cancer by 20% to 40% and decrease the risk of cancer’s return by 26% to 40%? (That means at least one in four breast cancer patients who would otherwise die could survive.) The sophisticated, high tech, state-of-the art miracle is: exercise. There is no debate that exercise decreases the occurrence of multiple cancers, increases cure rates and markedly improves quality of life.
The incredible thing is, no one does it. In the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention (not high on your reading list, I suspect), a study looked at physical activity levels in 631 women ages 18-64, after treatment for breast cancer. In the first 2 years after diagnosis, 39.5% exercised. A fair start. However, regular exercise fell steadily until 10 years later only one in five exercised at all and only 8% got the recommended minimum of physical activity over the entire period. Reverse those numbers and nine out of ten women reject a treatment modality which has a minimum 25% chance of saving them.
How good is 25%? Would you cross a busy street without looking one out of four times? Would you pull the trigger of a gun pointed between your eyes if it had a one in four chance of blowing your head off? Do you understand that adjuvant chemotherapy, that is medical treatment given after breast surgery to prevent relapse, often improves your chance of survival by only 10%? Chemo gives you a one in ten improved chance to live, while exercise offers better than one in four? It’s a no brainer. How does exercise work? Scientists are not sure. Likely, it is more than simply weight loss. It probably relates to better glucose, insulin, estrogen and other hormone levels, as well as benefits to the immune system. Cardiovascular health supports healing and defense, as well as the ability to tolerate needed medical interventions. Maybe people who are out exercising are spending less time sitting in recliners or in smoke- or radon-filled rooms. Whatever the biology, those who Please see EXERCISE page 2
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