For cancer, exercise could be the key to recovery

Sharing a great opinion piece related to the CO21 Challenge trial.

OPINION: The Globe and Mail  - Oct 28, 2025

• Donald McKenzie is a professor emeritus at the Faculty of Medicine and School of Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia.
• Kerry Courneya is a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation at the University of Alberta.

In June, an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine changed the landscape of cancer treatment by challenging the assumption that physical activity for patients doesn’t influence survival rates. A large, multinational study with a significant number of leaders and participants from Canada enrolled almost 900 patients who had colon cancer treated by surgery and chemotherapy and then added a structured exercise program for half of them. Patients assigned to the exercise group lived longer than the group that received only health advice. The differences were striking. Patients who were assigned to the structured exercise program had a 37-per-cent lower risk of dying and a 28-per-cent lower risk of recurrence of the cancer or another new cancer. 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-for-cancer-exercise-could-be-the-key-to-recovery/