Forum: Exercise can help cancer survivors improve their quality of life
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As an exercise oncologist, I applaud cancer survivor Jill Alphonso’s courage and viewpoint that the survivorship phase needs to be recognised beyond the acute treatment and hospital phases (Cancer survivorship must be recognised as an ongoing phase of care, May 19).
Cancer is a chronic disease, and with improvements in cancer treatments, more cancer survivors are living longer with the disease, but not always thriving.
A critical point about cancer survivorship is that regular exercise before, during and after active treatment supports and enhances the body’s ability to fight the disease. A 2025 study found that colon cancer survivors who continued exercising had a 37 per cent reduced risk of cancer-related death, compared with those who did not.
Over the past 20 years, exercise oncology research has shown convincingly the mechanisms that can help cancer survivors improve their quality of life – reduced fatigue and pain are two common examples – improve their tolerance of the harsh treatments and show evidence of improved survivorship.
In Singapore, there is growing interest within the medical and insurance industry to consider supporting exercise training programmes through the different phases of cancer treatment.
There is no better time than now to spearhead new initiatives and support for exercise programmes for cancer survivors. Exercise is medicine.
Goh Jorming
