Survival of the Fittest

Exercise not only helps you feel and look better, it can also help you live longer. New findings show that exercise improves life expectancy for brain cancer patients.

Researchers have found that brain cancer patients live longer when they exercise regularly compared to patients who are inactive.

Try taking a brisk walk after dinner; you might just live longer.

Researchers from Duke Cancer Institute found a strong association between exercise and brain cancer patients living longer. The study included 243 patients who had advanced recurrent gliomas (tumors in the brain or spine) that usually shorten life expectancy to less than six months.

Patients were asked to self-report exercise behavior. The participants who exercised regularly lived 21.84 months compared to 13.03 months for those who were inactive.

Jose Cortes, one of the patients who battled this condition since 2009, is a firm believer in exercising. He finds that exercise relieves his cancer treatment side effects and gives him a brighter outlook on life.

This study sheds light into another realm of possible therapeutic treatments that can be beneficial for cancer patients. Researchers are now looking into how exercising improves cancer survival after a diagnosis.

The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.