Exercising Every Week For At Least Three Hours May Help Prevent Prostate Cancer

Performing regular three-hour exercise each week has been observed by medical practitioners to help prevent the progression of prostate cancer. Though still in its early stages, the overall health of participants in the study, some of them undergoing prostate cancer treatment, has greatly improved.

One of the participants in the study, which looks at how exercise can help prevent various types of diseases, including prostate cancer, is showing great promise. Robert Lane would often drive to the University of Surrey gym in Guildford thrice a week to perform an hour-long high-intensity workout.

Treating Prostate Cancer

The routine involved cycling, rowing, lifting weights, and running. He has shown more energy compared to many 20-year-olds working out alongside him. For many, this may be uncommon except for the fact that Lane is already 70 years old and is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer in the past four and a half years.

Ever since he found out about the ailment in 2015, Lane has been through dozens of radiotherapy sessions, administered with hormone therapy doses, and chemotherapy. During the early phase, radiotherapy appears to work. Later on, however, the cancer cells gradually spread to Lane’s lymph nodes, and at the same time, doctors found a 14mm tumor growth in his chest.

The Breakthrough Treatment

To make matters worse, the side effects of treatments he was undergoing made him gain weight and also made Lane depressed and sluggish. This went on until 18 months ago when Lane became the first male cancer patient in the UK to get involved in a groundbreaking multi-national clinical trial. The research looks at whether high-intensity training can improve or even extend the lives of those suffering from metastatic prostate cancer.

Lane said before he joined the trial, he was putting on too much weight. While he had an active lifestyle before he found out about the ailment, his treatment made him lethargic and depressed. He felt as if he had no energy to perform any exercise routines.

When he learned about the clinical research, he took the opportunity to participate even if his wife as a little worried it might be too much for him. Each session participated in by Lane starts with resistance machines. This includes the shoulder and leg press, weight lifting for at least three sets of ten repetitions. He then mounts an exercise bike and pedals as fast as he could for at least 60 seconds. Lane repeats the cycling process for five more times, each broken with a two-minute rest that allows him to catch his breath.

The clinical trial, called INTERVAL-GAP4, is run by the health charity Movember and involves around 20 teams of researchers coming from different countries around the world. The objective of the team is to recruit 866 men to check whether this type of exercise should be recommended as therapy along with standard cancer treatments.