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Cancer-Fighting Weapon: Is It in Your Arsenal?

by , | Last updated Jul 26, 2026 | Cancer

Forty percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer of any site at some point during their lifetime, based on CDC 2025 data.  Would you like to reduce your risk for cancer-related death by nearly 15 to 20%?  Engage regularly in aerobic and strength-building exercises. Evidence, please!

A systematic review of 51 studies concluded that moderate to vigorous exercise is key to improving physical function and reducing cancer-related impairments. This review also found evidence that therapeutic exercises can help manage treatment side effects, may improve tolerance to cancer treatments, and enhance functional outcomes.1 

Less Mortality from Cancer

A study of 80,000 people found that people who did strength-building exercise had a 23 percent reduction in the risk of premature death by any means, and a 31 percent reduction in cancer-related death.2

Exercise & Cancer Stats

Now, the results from an even larger study: Pooled data from a dozen studies, totaling 1.4 million participants, reveal that higher levels of leisure-time physical activity are linked to lower risks of 13 different types of cancers.3

Which cancers? By how much?

  • esophageal adenocarcinoma (42 percent lower risk)
  • liver (27 percent lower risk)
  • lung (26 percent lower risk)
  • kidney (23 percent lower risk)
  • gastric cardia (22 percent lower risk)
  • endometrial (21 percent lower risk)
  • myeloid leukemia (20 percent lower risk)
  • myeloma (17 percent lower risk)
  • colon (16 percent lower risk)
  • head and neck (15 percent lower risk)
  • rectal (13 percent lower risk)
  • bladder (13 percent lower risk)
  • breast (10 percent lower risk).

Exercise Balances Hormones.

Consistently engaging in physical activity may reduce breast cancer risk by altering estrogen metabolism. Women who did aerobic exercises had an increased ratio of “good” to “bad” metabolites of estrogen.4

Regular exercise also helps to balance insulin levels. We all need insulin to facilitate the entry of glucose into the cells so that the cellular powerhouses can burn it for energy. Obesity and consumption of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates are the usual villains that cause the cells to respond ineffectively to insulin (insulin resistance). Insulin resistance causes the insulin levels to rise.

High levels of insulin encourage chronic inflammation and boost the risk of cancer. Regular exercise improves the sensitivity of insulin receptors in our cell membranes to respond to insulin more effectively.

Obesity creates a tumor-promoting microenvironment.5  Combined aerobic and resistance exercises reduced obesity, lowered body fat, and improved lean body mass.

Elevated Reactive Protein (CRP) levels are linked to advanced disease stages in various types of cancer.  A combination of aerobic and resistance exercise is effective in reducing serum insulin and CRP levels in breast cancer survivors.6

Exercise Focuses the Immune System on the Tumor.

Vigorous exercise drives cancer-destroying natural killer cells to the tumor site.7 Skeletal muscles produce proteins called myokines. Once released into the blood, myokines perform several functions. Myokines exert several cancer-fighting mechanisms, including suppression of tumor growth.

Moderate exercise also increases the number and efficiency of circulating natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells and viruses.8

Animal and human studies indicate that regular exercise can inhibit tumor promotion and progression in animals and humans who have cancer.9

Exercise and Prostate Cancer

Among men who have prostate cancer, those who exercise exhibit slower disease progression and survive longer. A single bout of vigorous exercise can boost the level of myokines in men with advanced prostate cancer for 30 minutes.10

The number of natural killer cells (NK cells) increases within minutes of starting moderate to vigorous exercise.11  Moderate-intensity exercise shows even greater benefits to the immune system by stimulating NK cell activity, improving their ability to detect danger, reducing inflammation, and preventing cellular ageing.

In contrast, the high-intensity, long-duration exercise decreases the proliferation of another type of cancer-fighting immune cells called killer T lymphocytes and reduces their ability to kill.12

Outdoor Exercise is Superior If You Have Green Space.

Spending time in a forest decreases stress, improves mood, reduces anger and aggressiveness, and improves one’s happiness. Forest visits also strengthen our immune system by increasing the activity and number of natural killer cells that destroy viruses and cancer cells.13  Being in a green environment reduces inflammation that fuels cancer.

Plants emit phytoncides that protect them from insects and rotting. When people breathe phytoncides in, there is an increase in the level of natural killer cells. Walking in the woods or where there are trees improves the number and efficiency of natural killer cells.14 

Conifer teas, such as pine trees, release terpenes. These oily compounds exert anti-inflammatory and anticancer actions.15

Additionally, walking in the woods helps lower elevated levels of cortisol, which suppresses the immune system. Then, too, sunshine can boost the vitamin D hormone levels. This hormone engages in several cancer-fighting activities.

Exercise Lowers the Risks for Recurrences and Complications

Optimizing physical fitness before beginning cancer treatment improves the outcome of the treatment. It encourages quicker recovery, and reduces the risks of complications.16 Of all lifestyle factors, physical activity has the most robust effect on breast cancer outcomes.17

Regular exercise also benefits individuals who have colon cancer. A person’s risk of having a cancer recurrence or dying was lowered by 40 to 50 percent in the 2 to 3 years following surgery and chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer if they walked briskly for one hour, six days a week.18 

Ideally, a person should engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, five days a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. Two to three sessions of strength training per week for large muscle groups are also recommended.

Walking for 10 minutes after two hours of sitting and deep breathing exercises helps to reduce the risk of clots. If a person is obese or has prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, walk 15 minutes after a meal will improve blood glucose levels.

Exercise Optimizes the Immune System.

Early evidence suggests that exercise, after chemotherapy is completed, helps the immune system to remodel itself in such a way as to improve its efficiency. After chemotherapy, the immune cells tend to become senescent. Regular exercise, though, converts these cells into a form that is ready to fight cancer and infections.19

Exercise Improves How Cancer Patients Feel During and After Treatments.

Participating in regular exercise can reduce fatigue and pain, and improve cardiovascular health and quality of life in women being treated for advanced breast cancer.20

  • Women who were exercising reported an average 21.4-point reduction in pain, compared to an average 2.6-point reduction for women who were not following the exercise program.
  • There was a 14.4-point reduction in fatigue in women exercising compared with 2.2 points in women in the control group.
  • There was an improvement of 16.6 points for those exercising compared to 11.0 points for those not exercising. 
  • For women’s ability to carry out normal daily tasks, there was an improvement of 14.9 points compared to a 0.1-point deterioration in the control group.

Exercise May Offset Some of the Side Effects of Cancer Treatment.

Certain types of chemotherapy give neuropathy—pain, tingling, or numbness in the extremities. Walking and gentle resistance band exercises reduce the neuropathy symptoms. Other studies show exercise reduced chronic inflammation and cognitive impairment among people receiving chemotherapy.21 

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2025 showed that compared with usual care or no exercise, exercise significantly:22

  • decreases the adverse effects associated with cancer and its treatments, such as damage to the heart, peripheral neuropathy, cognitive decline, and shortness of breath. 
  • reduces certain inflammatory markers in people with cancer, 
  • enhances sleep quality, psychological well-being, and social interactions.
  • boosts the quality of life in individuals, 

Regular physical exercise has benefits for people with advanced-stage cancer or metastasis,  such as reduced stress, anxiety, and depression.23

Considerations

First, consult with your health providers as to what type of exercises you should pursue.

Second,  the entire lifestyle is important in preventing cancer. A recent study suggests that regular physical activity can lower a woman’s overall risk of cancer — but only if she gets a good night’s sleep. Otherwise, lack of sleep can undermine exercise’s effect on cancer prevention.24

Thirdly, use natural, herbal or mineral-based sunscreen to minimize your chances of skin cancer if you are exercising outside for more than 20 minutes or if the ultraviolet light is intense. If you use sunscreen, you need to be sure you are getting enough vitamin D3, as sunscreen can substantially reduce vitamin D production.

Key Words: exercise and cancer prevention, exercise and cancer treatment, exercise and cancer recurrence, exercise and cancer survival, exercise and cancer statistics, exercise after cancer, exercise and breast cancer, exercise and cancer chemo, exercise decreases cancer risks, exercise fights cancer.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is general and educational in nature. Wildwood Sanitarium, its entities, or authors do not intend this information as a substitute for proper diagnosis, treatment, or counseling from a qualified medical provider who knows the person’s medical history and laboratory work.

Copyright © by Wildwood Sanitarium, Inc. 2026. All rights reserved.

References:

  1. Stout NL, et al. A Systematic Review of Exercise Systematic Reviews in the Cancer Literature (2005-2017). PM R. 2017 Sep;9(9S2): S347-S384. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28942909[↩]
  2. Emmanuel Stamatakis, et al. Does strength-promoting exercise confer unique health benefits? A pooled analysis of eleven population cohorts with all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality endpoints. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2017; DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwx345[↩]
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  10. Jin-Soo Kim, et al. Acute effect of high-intensity interval aerobic exercise on serum myokine levels and resulting tumour-suppressive effect in trained patients with advanced prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, 2022; DOI: 10.1038/s41391-022-00624-4[↩]
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