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HOW PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HELPS REDUCE YOUR RISK OF BREAST CANCER
Have you ever wondered how much time you spend sitting each day? If you’re like most people, many of your waking hours are spent parked on a chair or sofa, but the importance of getting regular exercise goes beyond managing your weight or even strengthening your bones.
According to a new international study, another big tick in the exercise pros list is that you’re lowering your risk of developing breast cancer. An international team of researchers from Australia, the UK and the US analysed genetic data from 130,957 women, 76,505 of whom had breast
cancer, and the results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in September.
“This study confirms that the findings from observational studies are robust and that there is a causal relationship between physical activity and a reduced risk of breast cancer,” says Associate Professor Brigid Lynch, a cancer epidemiologist with Cancer Council Victoria and senior author of the study.
“But one of the more interesting points is that the study suggests that sedentary behaviour may increase the risk of breast cancer. The risk increase was greater for receptornegative tumours, including triplenegative breast cancer, a more aggressive type of breast cancer with a poorer prognosis than other types.”
There are several reasons why being active may help, from decreasing the amount of oestrogen
and androgen hormones circulating in the bloodstream, to a reduction in inflammation and body weight.
“That said, we have to acknowledge that we can never attribute a certain behaviour to be the cause of breast cancer at an individual level,” Lynch says.
“Over half of all cancers are not related to any known risk factors, so women who do all the ‘right things’ can still be diagnosed with this disease.”
Exercise physiologist Karen Seymour works with cancer patients. She agrees that physical activity is an important cancer control strategy, and says that people are still surprised to learn that exercise is helpful during treatment and in recovery.
“Five or 10 years ago anyone going through cancer treatment was told to rest, and I think there is still a bit
of a stigma around that,” Seymour says.
“The treating teams are very busy sy so exercise isn’t something that is discussed much, or even at all. And patients are scared about what they can or can’t do.”
Seymour says that a typical breast cancer patient’s exercise “prescription” will depend on several things. The first step is getting clearance from an oncologist or GP if they are immediately post-surgery.
“Specific exercises are then recommended depending on whether the person has had a mastectomy, a wide local excision, lymph node involvement and/or reconstruction, and if they are having hormone therapy,” she says.
Kathryn Elliott was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 and went through 15 months of treatment including chemotherapy.
Before her diagnosis, the 50-yearold from Melbourne was physically active, via yoga, walking, running and the gym.
“Exercise was also a vital part of my treatment plan,” Elliott says.
“I did cardio on days I had chemotherapy and always went for a light walk afterwards.”
Fully recovered, she has given up alcohol to further reduce her cancer risk and being active is still part of her daily life. She particularly enjoys connecting with friends over a walk.
“My oncologist told me that one of the best things you can do to prevent cancer and to move forward in life is exercise,” she says.
“Every cancer patient should be prescribed exercise as medicine.”