Women who are breast cancer survivors should heed the advice of a new research study showing exercise to be a strong factor for lowering their chance of dying from the disease.

This information was discovered by a Canadian research team who analyzed 67 published articles to figure out what health habits women could do to prevent a breast cancer recurrence or death.  Factors looked at were weight and weight gain, diet, smoking, alcohol, vitamin supplements, and exercise.  The winner was exercise which showed an almost 40 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer return or death.

One of the researchers, Dr. Ellen Warner, a medical oncologist at Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre stated, “It’s similar to the magnitude of chemotherapy or hormone therapy.”  At the same time though, this review was not able to prove that exercise causes breast cancer risk to reduce.

When analyzing the published articles, exercise kept coming out on top of breast cancer survivors who had the lowest return of breast cancer recurrence.  From this information, the researchers recommend that all women who have had breast cancer to get in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity at least five days a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, plus two to three strength-training sessions each week.

It is not known why exercise rose to the top of the other factors for being the one that helped reduce the risk of breast cancer returning.  It is theorized that people who engage in exercise are most likely practicing other healthy habits.  In addition, exercise is also known to reduce side effects from hormone therapy helping women adhere to their prescribed treatment, it has anti-inflammatory effects that can reduce cancer cells, and it can help a woman to avoid excess weight gain that can increase inflammation.

At this point the researchers were not able to say if there is one best type of exercise a woman should do but that the important thing is for them to be utilizing exercise in various forms on a consistent, regular basis.

The researchers summarized their results in six main points:

·       Exercise

Women who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer should exercise moderately at least 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, or do 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. Women should also do two to three sessions of strength training for large muscle groups (glutes, back, chest, and hamstrings) per week.

·       Avoid weight gain

Weight gain during or after breast cancer treatment is linked to worse outcomes. Women who are overweight or obese at diagnosis also have poorer outcomes.

·       Stop smoking

While it’s unclear if stopping smoking after a breast cancer diagnosis affects the risk of recurrence, smoking causes a number of other health problems.

·       Limit alcohol

Limiting drinking to one or zero alcoholic drinks per day may help reduce the risk of recurrence.

·       Vitamin supplementation

Moderate consumption of vitamin C may be helpful, although more research is needed.  Vitamin D supplements can help maintain bone strength.

·       Diet

No specific type of diet has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Research suggests that patients do not need to avoid soy, and that soy products may help women maintain a healthy weight if they’re used to replace higher-calorie meat protein.

Women who have survived breast cancer should use this information to their advantage.  By following a healthy diet with regular exercise, and other lifestyle choices, she will increase her odds of a breast cancer return.  Not only will exercise reduce the chance of this not happening but it also strengthens a woman’s physical and mental health.  Even women who have not had a breast cancer diagnosis should follow this advice as practicing good health habits are for everyone.