Benefits of Physical Activity in Cancer

Why should you aim to be physically active?

There is a large and growing body of research which shows that being physically active is safe and helpful before, during, and after cancer treatment.

Exercise and physical activity can help improve your physical and mental wellbeing, as well as your overall quality of life.

Research also shows that being physical active can help you manage the side effects of treatment, such as fatigue, pain, weakness and poor sleep.

An expert summary of the research

International experts in cancer and physical activity recently reviewed all the available evidence on this topic.

They produced the graphic below to summarise what they found about the effects of exercise on health outcomes in cancer.

The graphic can be downloaded from this linkĀ 

Reference: Campbell KL, Winters-Stone KM, Wiskemann J, et al. Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors: Consensus Statement from International Multidisciplinary Roundtable. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(11):2375-2390. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000002116