Colon Cancer Prevention and the Importance of Exercise

A New Study Shows Public Knowledge Gaps

With the recent death of Tony Snow due to colon cancer, many Americans are looking for more information about colon cancer prevention. Fortunately, according to experts, colon cancer is largely preventable. While following these practices will not guarantee that one will never be diagnosed with this condition, they do represent the best available practices for colon cancer prevention. I recently had the opportunity to discuss the importance of educating the public about methods of colon cancer prevention with Dr. Elliot Coups, Associate Member of the Fox Chase Cancer Center's Division of Population Science. "The incidence of colon cancer could be greatly reduced if more individuals engaged in largely preventive measures," he said.

Physical Activity Protects Against Colon Cancer

Indeed, Dr. Coups has recently co-authored a study analyzing the general public's knowledge of colon cancer risk factors, to be published in the August edition of Patient Education and Counseling. In the study, Dr. Coups found that 85% of the 1932 surveyed adults did not list physical activity as a method of reducing the risk of colon cancer. Professor Edward Giovannucci, M.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, estimates that lack of adequate physical activity may be a factor in 14 percent of the cases of colon cancer diagnosed in the US each year. That translates to a possible reduction of more than 15,000 cases of colon cancer each year with increased physical activity.

While most people understand that a program of regular exercise is good for their health, the study by Dr. Coups shows that many are not being sufficiently informed about the specific benefits that physical activity provides. "The idea that exercise specifically prevents a large proportion of a common cancer may make an impact on the patient," Dr. Coups said.

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