Can Treadmill Exercise Help With Cancer?

There’s little chance you’ve never heard of cancer. Affecting one in three people in the U.S., the number is more like everyone if you consider the friends and families of survivors and patients. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, about 18.1 million people around the globe had cases of cancer in 2020, with breast, lung, and colorectal cancer being the most common that year. Along with diabetes and heart disease, cancer ranks as one of the biggest chronic health conditions affecting people today.

Whether you’re facing cancer now or want to slim down the possibilities you might in the future, a treadmill can be a very useful tool in the battle. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle complete with aerobic exercise is consistently named as one of the best things you can do before, during, and after a cancer diagnosis. Whether a high-priced unit or a budget-friendly one, today’s treadmills are loaded with AI programming and lots of extras all designed to optimize your health in a holistic way.

Can a home treadmill help you battle cancer? Sure. As with any tool, the question is more one of how. That’s where knowledge comes into play.

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What Is Cancer?

Unlike influenza, or the flu, which is a virus, cancer isn’t a contagious disease you catch per se. As the American Cancer Society explains, cancer is a condition in which the body’s cells begin to grow in an uncontrolled manner and begin crowding out normal, healthy cells. What kicks this process off is still a mystery plaguing researchers, but most agree it’s a combination of one’s genes and environmental stimuli. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle complete with exercise is one of the things you can do to lower your risk.

Cancer comes in more than just one form though. According to the American Cancer Society, the condition comes in two primary forms:

• Hematologic: Also called blood cancers, these are cancers of the blood cells and include leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.
• Solid tumor cancers: These include any kind of cancer that develops within body organs or tissues. Common forms of tumor cancers include prostate, lung, breast, and colorectal.

A tumor is simply a lump or growth of cells. Some are cancerous, or malignant, while others are benign.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers basic information and statistics about the more common forms of cancer. The risk of developing these can all be lowered by exercising.

• Bladder Cancer 
• Breast Cancer
• Cervical Cancer
• Colorectal Cancer
• Gynecologic Cancers
• Head and Neck Cancers
• Kidney Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Mesothelioma
• Myeloma
• Ovarian Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Skin Cancer
• Thyroid Cancer
• Uterine Cancer
• Vaginal and Vulvar Cancers

Is Obesity Linked to Cancer?

Most research indicates that yes, there is a relationship between obesity and most chronic diseases. And exercise as we know is one way to avoid, or treat, obesity. According to the CDC, being overweight or having obesity is linked to the 13 different types of cancer which comprise 40% of all cancer cases in the U.S.

If you’re suffering overweight or obesity, first consult a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and medical doctor before launching into an exercise program. But research indicates this condition can cause changes in the body’s levels of hormones, including insulin, that increase a person’s risk.

Unfortunately, obesity is one the rise in the U.S., with about 42% of adults and 20% of children now suffering from it. Interestingly enough, according to the CDC, between 2005 and 2014, the rate of new cancer cases associated with obesity rose 7% while the rate of cancers not associated with it fell 13%. More than 684,000 obesity-associated cancers are estimated to occur each year.

Can treadmill exercise help battle the bulge? Absolutely.

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What’s So Great About Treadmill Exercise?

Whether you’re seeking to avoid cancer, recovering from cancer, or undergoing treatments, treadmill exercise supervised by a medical professional can certainly help. Consider the following research, which is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to treadmill exercise and cancer.

• Physical Activity and Exercise Guidelines for People With Cancer: Why Are They Needed, Who Should Use Them, and When? Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 2020: The researchers report that higher physical activity levels post-cancer diagnosis are consistently associated with improved outcomes for all cancers studied to date.
• Effect of Exercise on Mortality and Recurrence in Patients With Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2020: After surveying the body of evidence on the topic, authors of this meta-analysis conclude that exercise has a favorable effect on mortality and recurrence in patients with cancer.

Let’s face it, the question of whether exercise is or is not good is a no-brainer at this point. But depending on your health insurance and doctor’s willingness to participate, you might be able to get a treadmill paid for out of your Health Savings Account (HSA) or other plan. Treadmills are also incredibly easy to use, and these days, can purchased for less than $900, with models such as the Horizon T202 bringing high quality interactive programming options along with solid engineering. If you’re suffering obesity or overweight status, our review here of the Best Treadmills for Heavy People focuses on models built to accommodate larger users.

As a competitive bodybuilder, I know the value of having a home treadmill in terms of 24-hour-a-day access to simple cardio. Whether walking, jogging, or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), the treadmill is about as simple to use as it gets.

The Verdict

Yes, treadmills can be an important tool in the fight against cancer. When combined with the right nutritional advice as offered by an RDN, and the right medical direction given by a doctor, there’s no question treadmills are worthy of consideration for anyone interested in the topic. If you are interested in purchasing a treadmill, be sure to check out our Five Step Treadmill Buying Guide to get the low-down.