Kenneth Gardner

Regular exercise, a healthy diet and reduced stress have been shown to slow the progression of early prostate cancer. Studies have shown that men, over age 65, who engage in at least three hours of physical activity, such as running, cycling or swimming, three times per week, had a nearly 70 per cent lower risk of being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer or dying from the disease.

The prostate gland depends on testosterone for growth and development. Prostate cells, both non-cancerous and cancerous, do too. The expected role of regular exercise has been proposed based on its ability to lower testosterone levels and to boost the immune system. This is seen in the increased number and activity of natural killer cells, which are part of the immune system that attack cancer cells.

Diet and other lifestyle changes also play a pivotal role in the development of many health problems. Many studies have suggested that adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle (including not smoking and binge drinking) and exercising regularly can have a host of health benefits, including reducing the risk for developing various cancers.

Check high-fat diets

Prostate cancer can be identified as the leading cause of cancer death, second to lung cancer, in men. Theory suggests that a high-fat diet combined with a sedentary lifestyle may increase your chances of developing prostate cancer. Most health experts state that it's far too early to say that diet and exercise can prevent prostate cancer from developing or progressing, but it is believed that a low-fat diet and regular exercise favourably affect the levels of hormones or growth of prostate cancer.

With so many benefits known, there is absolutely no reason why men should not consider adopting a diet and regular exercise to their routine.The important message is that regular exercise will definitely decrease the risk of many types of cancers, and in the case of early non- aggressive prostate cancer, it will decrease progression.

Support group

Studies have also been presenting strong connections between exercise and prostate cancer progression. In a research that studied men who had been diagnosed with early prostate cancer, they all decided not to seek treatment immediately but instead to closely monitor the progression of their tumours. Half the men adopted a regimen that included dieting and moderate aerobic exercises, such as walking 30 minutes a day, six days a week; participating in a one hour support group meeting once a week and using different stress management techniques.

A year later, the researcher gave both groups of men the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test which is used to monitor the progression of the cancer. The results showed that the men on diet and exercise saw their PSA levels drop by an average of four per cent while the other group saw theirs increase by an average of six per cent. Moreover, none of those who made the lifestyle changes needed any serious cancer treatment during the period, whereas six of those in the other group did.

What is clear is that regular exercise and a healthy diet throughout life has many benefits and this is yet another example where steady and prolonged application may help you battle this common malignancy.