Exercise improves quality of life in cancer

Regular exercise helps to improve the quality of life for breast cancer survivors.

Studies in the past have shown correlations between exercise and decreased cancer risk. To evaluate the effect of regular exercise on the life of breast cancer survivors researchers identified 1,829 Chinese women, aged around 54 years, diagnosed with breast cancer between 2002 and 2008. Ninety-five per cent of the women had a mastectomy, 92 per cent had chemotherapy and 28 per cent had radiation therapy. Approximately 70 per cent of the women exercised regularly at six months post-diagnosis and 74 per cent were exercising regularly for 36 months after their diagnosis.

Those reporting even low levels of regular exercise were more likely to report better physical, mental and social well-being than those reporting no exercise. Also, women who exercised for more than eight hours per week reported the highest capacity for daily living and work or study, less distress, better body image, and higher quality relationships. In addition, the benefits of exercise were still evident more than 36 months after breast cancer diagnosis.

The positive impact of regular exercise on well-being of participants remained even when the researchers allowed for many other personal characteristics, as well as health and disease related factors associated with quality of life.

These above findings provide strong evidence that regular exercise helps to improve physical, psychological, and social well-being in breast cancer survivors.

-article from NDTVDOCTOR

Folate cuts women's colon cancer risk

Eating plenty of folate reduces the risk of colorectal cancer for women.

There is evidence that intake of folate (a water-soluble vitamin from the B complex group that occurs naturally in food; folic acid is the synthetic form of folate found in supplements), which is found in green, leafy vegetables and citrus fruits, may reduce colorectal cancer risk, although some research suggests this protective effect could vary by ethnic background.

To look at the relationship in a Korean population, the researchers compared the diets of 596 colorectal cancer patients and 509 healthy individuals, matched by age and gender. The cancer patients drank and smoked more, were less active, and were also more likely to have a family history of the disease.

It was found that those who consumed more than 270 micrograms folate a day were more than half as likely to have cancer compared to people who ate 180 micrograms or less daily. When researchers looked at men and women separately, they found no influence of folate intake on mens' colorectal cancer risk. But women with high folate consumption (over 300 micrograms a day) were 64 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer compared to women with the lowest consumption (200 micrograms daily or less).

These findings support the role of diet modification in reducing cancer risk based on the fact that the body needs folate in order to form nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA and RNA), to copy DNA and for other essential genetic functions. Therefore, low folate intake could contribute to colorectal cancer by making genetic mutations more likely.