Can Exercise Help People With Cancer Live Longer?

“One of our main chemo drugs that we use only delivers 3 to 4 percent [improvement in survival], so this was physical activity generating a better return on your investment than toxic chemotherapy,” Marshall says, referring to oxaliplatin, a chemotherapy drug.

The study found that 43 people in the control group got a new cancer, compared with 23 in the exercise group. Notably, five people in the control group got colon cancer again, compared with none in the exercise group.

Subsequent cancers “were definitely reduced in this study,” Meyerhardt says. “And that, you can imagine, could be applicable to multiple other cancer types too.”

The survival difference-maker

Scientists aren’t sure how exercise works to boost longevity and reduce death in colon cancer survivors.

Reduced inflammation could be one possible pathway. Working out could also interrupt metabolic growth factors that promote cancer cell growth and progression, the report notes. Weight loss was similar in both groups, so that’s probably not the main driver, the scientists add.

Marshall thinks exercise’s impact on the microbiome could be what improves outcomes. A 2022 study showed exercise can shift gut health to boost the immune system and lower inflammation, which can affect colon cancer risk. The research team says it will evaluate blood samples in the future to get a better idea.

“With exercise, there are so many — there are really a multitude — of what I would consider benefits to multiple systems in your body,” Patel says.

Research shows that in addition to reducing inflammation, exercise improves chronic stress indicators, glucose metabolism, insulin pathways and sex steroid function. Any or a combination of those fitness perks, among others, could be responsible for the survival boost, Patel says.

With this study showing that regular workouts can improve survival and recurrence, could the same be true for other cancers? Marshall and Patel think so.

A May 2025 report in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity was linked to better survival in people with multiple types of cancer.

“We don’t think it’s going to be exclusively a colon cancer impact in the long run,” Marshall says.

Patel adds, “The body of evidence for improved outcomes after a cancer diagnosis with exercise is fairly robust.” 

Sweat sessions for survival

The findings align with the American Cancer Society’s guidelines for cancer survivors, which encourage people to avoid inactivity — something that Patel says is still a challenge.

“Unfortunately, there are still some clinicians who encourage their patients to rest,” she says. Instead, stay active after treatment, she advises.

The study examined activity using metabolic equivalent of task (MET) units to gauge exercise intensity — that’s how much energy you expend, compared with resting. The goal was to improve activity by about 10 METs per week, meaning that people added about two and a half to three hours of moderate-intensity exercise. (Walking counts, so long as you hit about three miles per hour, Patel says.)

Physical activity guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity.

A 2019 study linked achieving recommended amounts of exercise to a lower risk for seven cancer types. The study’s authors recommend 7.5 to 15 MET hours per week — that’s two and a half to five hours of moderate-intensity activity, or 75 minutes to two and a half hours of vigorous activity — to reduce cancer risk.

“The more intense the activity, the less you have to do,” Patel says. For instance, if you jog, you may need to do it for only 75 to 150 minutes per week instead of the 150 to 300 minutes because it’s a high-intensity exercise.  

Using exercise to lower your risks

Want to work out to help lower your risk of cancer or to help extend your survival if you’ve already faced the disease? Find activities you like so you’re more likely to stick with them, experts say.

Adding support that keeps you consistent is also key. Some people prefer to work out with a friend or trainer, or take a regular class, or track fitness metrics on a wearable.

If you aren’t much of a fitness buff, start small with what you do and for how long, Patel says. She points to a 2018 report that found about 75 percent of cancer survivors weren’t meeting the CDC’s physical activity guidelines.

“Doing something is better than nothing, and then work your way up to what the optimal amounts are,” she says. “Don’t try to go from doing nothing to ‘I need to be out there an hour a day.’ "

Meyerhardt echoes this advice. Even if you can’t meet recommendations right away, any exercise “probably still has some benefit,” he says.

Meyerhardt says that the health care system may not have the supports in place, as the study participants had to help them stay consistent, but this could change in the future. In the meantime, he hopes doctors will use the trial to emphasize how critical it is to exercise consistently.