Fitness plays a key role in battling cancer

So. You get the worst news of your life: cancer.

You dutifully sign on for chemo, surgery, radiation. You also vow to eat better. More fruits and veggies, less saturated fat -- all that good stuff should tip the odds in your favor, right?

There's actually surprisingly little evidence that such dietary changes prolong survival -- except perhaps for colon cancer.

What is crystal clear, though, is the importance of exercise and weight control. Gone is the folklore that people with cancer should avoid getting too thin. The real threat, say cancer nutritionists, is becoming or remaining overweight. At a basic metabolic level, excess weight and lack of exercise may not only add diabetes and heart disease to your cancer troubles, but can impair immune function and even boost levels of hormones, including insulin and estrogen, that may drive some tumors. ...more