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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> "We were not able to evaluate detailed, long-term exercise," Abrahamson said. "However, exercise levels in the year before diagnosis is likely an indicator of a person's average adult exercise patterns."
While much other research has suggested that exercising regularly reduces the risk of getting breast and other cancers, less is known about what effect activity has on a woman's prognosis if and when she gets breast cancer.
One previous study found a beneficial effect of exercise for both ideal-weight women and overweight women diagnosed with breast cancer, Abrahamson pointed out.
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Exactly why this study did not show much benefit for normal-weight women isn't known, she said. "This is difficult to explain. It is possible that our finding is a fluke and that improved survival would apply to all women with breast cancer."
Another theory revolves around weight-linked differences in circulating estrogen.
Exercise is known to lower estrogen levels, Abrahamson said. "Once women receive radiation or chemotherapy after diagnosis, they no longer produce hormones from their ovaries. Therefore, lower-weight women wouldn't necessarily gain extra benefit from exercise," she said.
"However, for overweight women, they are still getting hormones from their excess fat tissue and are at a higher risk of dying. It is possible that overweight women who are exercising are lowering their hormone levels through exercise and increasing their odds of surviving," the Seattle researcher said. "Previous studies have shown exercise to significantly decrease estrogen levels in overweight women."
"This study adds another piece to the puzzle," said Alpa Patel, director of the Cancer Prevention Study-3 for the American Cancer Society, in Atlanta. "We know that lifelong physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer, and some studies show even initiating the exercise in adulthood [reduces risk]."
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