Exercise to increase breast cancer survival

A study has found that exercising three to five hours a week can help breast cancer patients reduce their risk of dying by 50 per cent.

The Nurse’s Health Study of 122,000 nurses over the past 28 years, found that chances of survival of the disease dramatically increased by walking at an average pace for three to five hours a week.

The exercise habits of 2,167 breast-cancer survivors were compared at least two years after diagnosis.

Those who did the equivalent of one to three hours of walking a week cut their risk of dying of breast cancer by 23 per cent, compared with survivors who didn't exercise.

Three to five hours a week cut the risk by 54 per cent, and five to eight hours cut it by 51 per cent.