Prostate cancer patients who routinely engage in modest amounts of vigorous physical exercise appear to lower their risk of dying from their disease, according to new research published in the Jan. 4 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Three hours a week or more of vigorous biking, tennis, jogging or swimming seems to improve the prognosis among such patients, the research team found, but they added that even moderate physical activity appears to lower the overall risk of dying from any cause.
"We observed benefits at very attainable levels of activity, and our results suggest that men with prostate cancer should do some physical activity for their overall health, even if it is a small amount, such as 15 minutes of activity per day of walking, jogging or biking. Vigorous activity may be especially beneficial for prostate cancer, as well as overall health, at levels of three or more hours per week."