Research
Adherence
Physician recommendation and referral to certified cancer exercise trainers significantly increases physical activity levels in breast cancer survivors compared to usual care.
Ask your oncologist for a recommendation to exercise and a referral to a certified cancer exercise trainer. This simple step can help you increase your physical activity levels, even if the increase is modest.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The recommendation groups reported higher physical activity levels, but only modest effects (<30 min moderate intensity physical activity per week compared to usual care).
Why this rating
Supported by a randomized controlled trial of intervention vs usual care.
Source
Physical activity interventions for cancer survivors: Figure 1
Melinda L. Irwin · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2008
DOI 10.1136/bjsm.2008.053843
narrative_reviewCited 179×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (approx. 120 min/week) and resistance training significantly reduce fasting insulin levels in breast cancer survivors, independent of body weight loss.Good
- Post-diagnosis moderate-intensity recreational physical activity (approx. 3 hours/week) is associated with a 24-67% reduction in total mortality and 50-53% reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality in women with breast cancer.Moderate
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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