Engaging in any type of physical activity can reduce the risk of death in patients with colon cancer by 30 percent, according to the latest international research.
This includes any type of training - from swimming to salsa lessons, the researchers suggest.
The latest findings could change the way colon cancer is treated worldwide.
Scientists are already investigating whether similar programs can improve the quality of life of people with other diseases, such as breast cancer.
"The mindset is changing a bit - treatment is no longer seen as a form of therapy you have to take, but something you do," says Vicki Coyle of Queen's University in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.
The subject of the latest research was a three-year exercise program introduced shortly after chemotherapy.
The idea was for patients to exercise twice as much as people without health problems.
This included brisk walks lasting 45 to 60 minutes three to four times a week, adds Professor Coyle.
For the first six months, patients also had a personal trainer weekly, and then this was reduced to once a month.
The study involved 889 patients - half of whom were included in the exercise program.
The other half were presented with posters promoting a healthy lifestyle.
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The results, published in the journal "New England Journal of Medicine", they showed after five years:
- that cancer did not return in 80 percent of patients who exercised;
- that it did not return in 74 percent of patients from the second group;
- that the chance of the cancer returning or developing a new one was about 28 percent.
Eight years after initial cancer treatment:
- ten percent of patients included in the treatment program died;
- in the group that was only given health advice, 17 percent died;
- The risk of death is 37 percent.
Why exercise works effectively is currently unknown, but some of the assumptions are that it affects growth hormone, inflammation in the body, and how the immune system functions.
The results are "exciting," says Joe Henson of the University of Leicester in the UK.
"I have witnessed the changes and seen how exercise reduces fatigue, lifts mood, and increases physical strength."
"Physical activity is known to regulate several key biological processes that could explain these results, and further research will help us discover why the impact of exercise is so positive," explains the professor.
Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK - diagnosed in around 31.800 people each year.
"This trial could transform clinical practice, but only if health services have the resources and sufficient staff to implement it in patients," said Caroline Geraghty of the British organization Cancer Research.
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