As colon cancer rates continue to rise, it’s more important than ever to recognize the signs, prioritize early screening and adopt lifestyle habits that may help close the survival gap. While not widely known, people who have had colon cancer—even if it’s “cured”—have a shorter life expectancy.
The good news? Oncologists and cancer researchers from the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology may have identified one easy-to-implement habit that could help change that.
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Published in Cancer, their study examined whether certain lifestyle factors and activities could help lengthen the lives of survivors. To do so, they analyzed data from two large, long-term clinical trials involving 2,876 patients with stage III colon cancer, all of whom had undergone surgery and chemotherapy.
Participants also self-reported their physical activity during and after treatment, which the researchers quantified using Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) hours per week, a standard measure of exercise intensity and duration (or how much energy is used).
Related: This Is the Minimum Amount of Exercise You Need To Prevent Cancer and Disease
Colon Cancer Survivors Who Do This Live Longer, According to Oncologists
As for what the research team found? Colon cancer patients who exercised regularly lived significantly longer than those who did not.
More specifically, those who exercised more than 18 MET-hours/week —which equates to about 5+ hours of brisk walking a week— lived nearly as long as people who never had cancer.
Conversely, participants who exercised less than 3 MET-hours a week demonstrated a much lower survival rate than the general population.
Related: This Weekly Workout Routine Can Boost Longevity By 31%
The One Factor That Mattered Even More Than Exercise
All of that being said, exercise isn’t a magic bullet. The strongest predictor of long-term survival was not having the cancer come back.
Still, physical activity may play a role in preventing recurrence—especially in the first two to three years post-treatment, according to the researchers. Even among those whose cancer did return, staying active was associated with longer survival (though to a lesser degree).
Related: Doing This for Just 5 Minutes a Day Can Lower Your Dementia Risk by 41%
Why Does This Matter for Me?
If you or someone you love has colon cancer, this study is a powerful reminder that physical activity can be a total game-changer. Just a few hours of walking each week may not only improve your odds of survival, but help you live a longer, healthier life overall.
It also echoes what other research has shown time and again—regardless of whether or not you’ve had cancer: Even small amounts of movement, like five minutes of walking daily, can lower your risk of serious conditions like dementia, reduce disease and cancer-related death and boost overall longevity.
But the best part? You don’t have to do it every day. Research shows that getting 150 minutes of exercise across just a few days—like over the weekend—can offer the same health benefits as spreading it out throughout the week. What matters most is that you get moving. And it’s never too late to start.
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Sources
- The association of physical activity with survival in colon cancer versus a matched general population: Data from Cancer and Leukemia Group B 89803 and 80702 (Alliance). Cancer.
- “Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity at any Dose Reduces All-Cause Dementia Risk Regardless of Frailty Status.” Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA).
- “Association of Accelerometer‐Derived Physical Activity Pattern With the Risks of All‐Cause, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer Death.” Journal of the American Heart Association.
- “Move more, age well: prescribing physical activity for older adults.” Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ)
