I read that in my local paper, it is interesting, I have been much more
physically active since my diagnosis.

http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=862

ANDRÉ PICARD, "Exercise cut return of breast cancer by half", Globe
and Mail, May 25, 2005,
Link:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050525/HCANCER2
5/TPHealth/

Walks and runs to raise money for breast cancer research have become
ubiquitous, a way of drawing attention to the cause and raising the
spirits of cancer sufferers. Now, a new study suggests there are more
personal and immediate reasons for breast cancer survivors to walk and
run: Doing so markedly increases their own odds of survival.

The research, published in today's edition of the Journal of the
American Medical Association, found that regular exercise can cut the
risk of cancer recurrence up to 50 per cent.

"Women with breast cancer who . . . exercise at moderate intensity for
30 or more minutes per day for five or more days per week survive
longer," said Dr. Michelle Holmes, a cancer researcher at Brigham and
Women's Hospital in Boston.

While it is well established that women who exercise regularly are less
likely to develop breast cancer -- the risk is reduced from 20 to 40
per cent according to various studies -- the new study found similar
benefits for women who had already developed breast cancer.

Dr. Holmes said while the reasons are not entirely clear, it appears
that physical activity lowers production of estrogen, a hormone that
can promote tumour growth.

The new study found that walking as little as one hour a week can
improve the odds of survival. However, the greatest risk reduction was
seen in women who engaged in physical activity that was the equivalent
of three to five hours a week. Doing more exercise, or more vigorous
activities, did not confer additional benefits, the researchers found.

Dr. Holmes said while the recommended activity levels are not too
onerous, fewer than one-third of breast cancer survivors meet the
recommended minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity daily.

Furthermore, the research revealed that, after breast cancer treatment,
most women decrease their activity levels substantially -- by about two
hours a week on average. Women who are obese cut back even further,
though the study found that obese women actually benefited more from
regular physical activity after breast cancer treatment than women of
normal weight.

Dr. Holmes noted that weight gain after breast cancer survival is
commonplace, and exercise is the best way to counter this problem.
Being overweight at the time of diagnosis, and weight gain after
diagnosis sharply increase the likelihood of recurrence and death.

Data for the study were derived from the Nurses' Health Study, an
examination of American and Canadian nurses that has been ongoing since
1976.

The current research was based on the responses of 2,987 nurses who
were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1984 and 1998. They were
followed until June of 2002. During that time, 370 women had a
recurrence of breast cancer; 280 died of the disease.

Women who were sedentary were the most likely to suffer a recurrence or
die. Researchers found that women who exercised the equivalent of one
hour of brisk walking a week saw their risk fall 20 per cent, while
those who did the equivalent of three to five hours had a 50-per-cent
relative reduction in risk; those who did more than five hours of
physical activity had a 44-per-cent drop in risk. Earlier Canadian
research found that women who exercise routinely during their lifetime
cut their breast cancer risk by at least one-third; those who did not
smoke or drink alcohol in addition to being physically active saw their
risk plummet by 70 per cent.

In 2005, an estimated 21,600 women and 150 men will be diagnosed with
breast cancer, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.