Exercise Program Helps Cancer Patients Stay in Remission

On October 6, 2026, cancer patients and researchers highlighted growing evidence that structured exercise programs can support remission and quality of life, with efforts at institutions including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center helping patients manage treatment-related fatigue and cognitive issues.

Lee Colker, a 66-year-old Pittsburgh resident with metastatic kidney cancer, joined a virtual exercise program after experiencing unpredictable fatigue and brain fog during a clinical trial. The program connected him with a trainer specializing in cancer patients.

Colker said University of Pittsburgh Medical Center staff informed him that exercise could improve his energy, leading him to participate in the program.

"That was a clincher for me," Colker said.

Research cited in the report shows exercise has increasingly been studied as part of cancer care. Observational studies have linked physical activity with better cancer survival, especially among breast cancer patients.

A randomized controlled trial involving colon cancer patients found that participants in a three-year structured exercise program with trainer-coaches had lower cancer recurrence rates and better quality of life. According to the study results, 90 percent of participants were alive after eight years, compared with 83 percent in the control group.

The exercise program cost about $3,000 per person, and a later study found it also reduced health system costs, according to Dr. Scott Ramsey, a cancer researcher and health economist at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Washington State.

Ramsey described the combination of health benefits and cost savings while discussing the potential impact of exercise programs in oncology care.

"A home run," Ramsey said.

The report compared the cost-effectiveness of exercise-based interventions with some newer cancer treatments. It cited the pancreatic cancer drug daraxonrasib, which costs $480,000 annually, has significant side effects and extends life by several months without increasing overall long-term survival.

Cancer exercise programs are becoming more common across the country as researchers continue examining how physical activity can complement traditional treatments. The evidence has expanded beyond general health benefits toward measurable outcomes in cancer recovery and survival.