Brisk Walks Could Reduce the Risk of Dying from Prostate Cancer

Researchers found moderate weekly exercise could lower prostate cancer patients’ risk of dying from the disease. Even though the scientists cannot tell for sure whether physical activity prior to the diagnosis has any correlation with the advancement of the disease, they do recommend patients who received a positive diagnosis to start moving around more often.

It was previously known that physical exercises of any kind reduce one’s risk of developing potentially fatal conditions. However, now more than ever, it is clear that male cancer patients have the most to gain from engaging in weekly physical activity.

Doctors recommend prostate cancer patients to spread their workouts throughout the week, in order to benefit from the result on a daily basis. Hence, roughly 150 minutes of moderate physical activities should do the job, health professionals say. However, if not possible investing time in a potentially life-saving, side effects-free form of treatment, health experts also recommend cramming up the workouts in 75-minute sessions at the end of the week, preferably with one session for each day of the weekend.

Researchers studied the behavioral patterns of prostate cancer patients and discovered that those who had no activity were more susceptible to death rather than those who took only one-hour walks each day. The scientists also discovered that male individuals who were physically active before they received their diagnosis and remained so throughout the disease greatly lowered the risk of dying within the next five years of their life.

Health experts from Harvard discovered that moderate physical activity prior to prostate cancer diagnosis is linked to more normally shaped blood vessels in prostate tumors. As a result, the healthier blood vessels are capable of stalling the spreading of cancer throughout the body, ultimately lowering the risk of succumbing to the disease. Furthermore, even though brisk walks can visibly lower the risks of dying from prostate cancer, the more intense the workout, the better the results and consequently, the lower the risks.

For more information on the health benefits of physical activity prior and after prostate cancer diagnosis, patients are advised to consult with their healthcare provider.

Image Source: Wikipedia