The well podcast: cancer and exercise

Several studies have shown a link between exercise and lower cancer risk. However, the message often isn’t well received by patients who think it blames the victim by suggesting they wouldn’t have cancer had they just been more active.

That’s what I learned this week when I blogged about a new study suggesting cancer patients don’t exercise any more than the rest of us. The finding is troubling because some studies suggest exercise improves cancer survival, signaling that cancer patients have much to gain from exercising after a diagnosis.

But more than 100 readers responded to the article, and many of them complained that it was judgmental and blamed cancer patients for their plight. They added that exercise and calorie-counting are not priorities to a cancer survivor.