The big cancer mistake most women make

About 12 percent of all women suffer breast cancer in their lifetime. But a study shows that most women faced with a breast cancer diagnosis make a big mistake that threatens their health. Will you be a victim?

Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that women being treated for breast cancer are not exercising enough, even though exercise could help save their lives.

Recommendations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cancer Society show that we should all be doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise weekly to keep away illness.

And even though women with breast cancer have a better chance of survival if they exercise, the Chapel Hill researchers found that only 35 percent of these women were exercising enough.

Unfortunately, the study shows, about 60 percent of women who had survived breast cancer were exercising less than they were before being diagnosed. African-American women were exercising even less than white women. The researchers believe that this difference is a factor in causing black women to die more often from breast cancer.

“Medical care providers should discuss the role physical activity plays in improving breast cancer outcomes with their patients, and strategies that may be successful in increasing physical activity among breast cancer patients need to be comprehensively evaluated and implemented,” says researcher Brionna Hair.

Carl Lowe

By Carl Lowe

has written about health, fitness and nutrition for a wide range of publications including Prevention Magazine, Self Magazine and Time-Life Books. The author of more than a dozen books, he has been gluten-free since 2007.

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