Remarkably affordable habit increases colon cancer patients survival rates better than some drugs
A three-year exercise program improved survival in colon cancer patients and kept disease at bay, a first-of-its-kind international experiment showed.With the benefits rivaling some drugs, experts said cancer centers and insurance plans should consider making it a new standard of care for colon cancer survivors.“This is about as high a quality of evidence as you can get,” said Dr.
Julie Gralow, chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.“I love this study because it’s something I’ve been promoting but with less strong evidence for a long time.”Prior evidence was based on comparing active people with sedentary people, a type of study that can’t prove cause and effect.
The new study — conducted in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States — compared people who were randomly selected for an exercise program with those who instead received an educational booklet.The findings were featured Sunday at ASCO’s annual meeting in Chicago and published by the New England Journal of Medicine.Academic research groups in Canada, Australia and the U.K.
funded the work.Researchers followed 889 patients with treatable colon cancer who had completed chemotherapy.Half were given information promoting fitness and nutrition.
The others worked with a coach, meeting every two weeks for a year, then monthly for the next two years.Coaches helped participants find ways to increase their physical activity.Many people, including Terri Swain-Collins, chose to walk for about 45 minutes several times a week.“This is something I could do for myself to make me feel better,” said Swain-Collins, 62, of Kingston, Ontario.
Regular contact with a friendly coach kept her motivated and accountable, she said.“I wouldn’t want to go there and say, ‘I didn’t do anything,’ so I was always doing stuff and making sure I got it done.”After eight years, the people in the structured exercise program not only became more acti...