It can keep cancer in remission. Why is no one talking about it?
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Lee Colker exercising during a virtual session with Olivia Masten, a trainer who specialises in working with cancer patients.
PHOTO: JEFF SWENSEN/NYTIMES
Nina Agrawal
- Exercise is helping some cancer patients stay in remission and feel better.
- A 2025 trial found colon cancer patients who exercised had fewer recurrences and higher eight-year survival.
- Insurance is still a major barrier in the US. Most programmes need charity or self-pay, so poorer patients and those far from major cancer centres miss out.
AI generated
NEW YORK – Lee Colker powered on an iPad in the basement of his Pittsburgh home and logged into a virtual exercise session with Olivia Masten, a trainer who specialises in working with cancer patients.
Colker, 66, had been dealing with unpredictable fatigue and brain fog since beginning a clinical trial for metastatic kidney cancer in 2026.