How exercise better than drugs

Rizwan Ali

:Exercise:  A natural, side_effect free remedy that offten more effective than drugs for preventing and treating many health conditions."

Transcript

00:00A landmark trial that could change global health guidelines found that exercise is even more

00:05effective than drugs at preventing cancer patients from dying, reducing the risk of

00:09death by a third, and preventing tumor growth. To lower a person's risk of developing cancer,

00:15doctors have suggested leading a healthy lifestyle for decades. However, there has been little

00:20support for incorporating exercise into patients' routines and little evidence of the impact it

00:26could have after diagnosis up until this point. A first-of-its-kind study involving patients from

00:31Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Canada has revealed that

00:37following treatment, a structured exercise routine significantly lowers the risk of death,

00:42recurrence, or new cancer development. The findings were published in the New England Journal of

00:48Medicine after being presented in Chicago at the largest cancer conference in the world,

00:52the American Society of Clinical Oncology, ASCO, annual meeting. One of the world's best cancer

00:59doctors said that for the first time in medical history, there was clear evidence that exercise

01:03was even better at preventing cancer recurrence and death than many of the drugs that are currently

01:08given to patients. ASCO's chief medical officer, Dr. Julie Grallo, who was not involved in the

01:14decade-long study, stated that the findings would result in a major shift in understanding the

01:19importance of encouraging physical activity during and after treatment and were of the highest level

01:24of evidence. The trial found that compared to patients who received only health advice,

01:30those who began a structured exercise regimen with the assistance of a personal trainer or health coach

01:35after finishing treatment had a 37% lower risk of death and a 28% lower risk of developing recurrent

01:41or new cancers. When asked to contextualize the impact of exercise on cancer patients' outcomes,

01:47Grallo responded, we titled, the session, as good as a drug. Since you don't have all the side effects,

01:54I would have retitled it better than a drug. It is the same magnitude of benefit as many drugs that

02:00are approved for this magnitude of benefit, a 28% and 37% reduction in the risk of occurrence,

02:06respectively. Drugs that cost less are approved, and they are toxic and expensive. When I first started

02:13out, there was still a time when we would gently caution patients against overindulging while they

02:18were receiving chemotherapy. That has been reversed, she added. Exercise is better than drugs, I'd say.

02:25Woman in an emergency room globally, bowel cancer is on the rise among people under 50, according to

02:32research. Find out more between 2009 and 2023, researchers recruited 889 individuals with colon cancer

02:41for the study. 90% of patients had stage 3 disease. A structured exercise program, 445, or simply a

02:49healthy lifestyle booklet, 444, were randomly assigned to patients. For a total of three years,

02:57members of the exercise group worked with a personal trainer twice a month for coaching and supervised

03:02exercise sessions, and then once a month after that. In order to assist the exercise group in reaching

03:07their exercise objectives, they received guidance and support. Patients were free to choose how they

03:13got more active, but their weekly goal was three to four walks lasting 45 to 60 minutes. Some went

03:20kayaking or skiing, for instance. Patients in the exercise group had a 28% lower risk of new cancers or

03:28recurrence five years later than those in the other group. The same patients had a 37% lower risk of death

03:34after eight years than those who had not received the Healthy Lifestyle Booklet. After completing

03:39surgery and chemotherapy, about 30% of patients with high-risk stage 2 and stage 3 colon cancer will

03:46eventually experience recurrence of their disease, said the study's lead author, Dr. Christopher Booth,

03:51of Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. As oncologists, one of our patients' most frequent

03:57inquiries is, what else can I do to improve my outcome? These results now provide us with a clear answer,

04:04an exercise program with a personal trainer will help you live longer, make you feel better,

04:09and reduce your risk of recurrence or new cancer. The chief clinician of Cancer Research UK,

04:14Professor Charles Swanton, stated, This fascinating study captures the power of exercise to transform

04:20people's health and increase their chances of surviving cancer after treatment. Cancer Research UK

04:26funded the UK portion of the study. Patients receive remarkable benefits from exercise,

04:32an intervention that is not a drug. A woman and her dog are running along a country track below her

04:38knee as the sun rises over the fields. Reduce bowel cancer risk by 11% could be the result of early

04:45morning and evening activity. Swanton went on to say that, for some patients, physical activity can be

04:51a game-changer that shifts the course of their recovery. In order to increase people's chances of

04:56survival, the findings suggest that oncologists should think about recommending a structured

05:01exercise program following surgery. However, it is essential to keep in mind that not everyone is a

05:07good candidate for exercise. Before beginning any new physical activity, consult your doctor,

05:13is my advice to cancer patients. According to oncologists in Chicago, the findings are likely to alter

05:20global practice, with doctors worldwide urging them to discuss exercise regimens with their patients

05:25following treatment. While this study followed only colon cancer patients, Grallo said there was

05:31no reason to think the findings would not be applicable across other cancers. Booth said that

05:36trials for other cancers would be needed, but he also said that the data from this study showed that

05:41the exercise group had fewer cases of breast and prostate cancer. Dr. Pamela Koons of Yale School of

05:47Medicine stated, exercise as an intervention is a no-brainer and should be implemented broadly.

05:52The National Medical Director of NHS England, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said it was really

05:58exciting that tailored exercise following treatment could be life-changing in response to the findings.

06:04These groundbreaking findings suggest that concentrated forms of exercise, such as walks and workouts,

06:10may accelerate the body's ability to prevent cancer from returning after treatment and contribute to

06:15the saving of additional lives. It's now really encouraging to see that exercise really could have the power

06:21to help more people survive cancer, and being more active can have significant benefits in helping

06:26maintain a healthy weight, strengthening the immune system, reducing inflammation, and lifting mood.

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