Amy Comander, Breast Oncologist and Director of Lifestyle Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, shared on LinkedIn:
“Sharing this People magazine article addressing a question my patients ask me in clinic every single day:
‘What actually helps reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence?’
While no strategy can eliminate the risk of breast cancer recurrence, some lifestyle habits can lower risk for recurrence.
This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about incorporating evidence-based lifestyle medicine into breast cancer survivorship care.
I was honored to contribute to this article and discuss the important role of physical activity and strength training after a diagnosis of breast cancer.
Growing evidence demonstrates that being physically active after a breast cancer diagnosis is associated with meaningful improvements in outcomes.
In observational meta-analyses comparing the most active to the least active survivors, higher levels of post-diagnosis physical activity have been associated with approximately a 40-50% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 35–40% lower risk of breast cancer-specific mortality.
We know that exercise offers benefits far beyond cancer outcomes. Strength training, in particular, can help preserve muscle mass, bone health, physical function, and quality of life, which are all critically important for many individuals receiving anti-estrogen therapy.
Of course, lifestyle medicine is not a substitute for evidence-based cancer treatment, and no lifestyle behavior can guarantee that a cancer will not recur. But nutrition, physical activity, maintaining metabolic health, limiting alcohol, sleep, and emotional well-being are important components of comprehensive survivorship care.
I was also grateful to read the perspectives of the other experts featured in this article.
Helping our patients understand what they can do after a breast cancer diagnosis, without creating fear, guilt, or unrealistic expectations, is an important part of helping people not only survive, but thrive.
Thank you to Stephanie Brown and to People magazine for highlighting this important topic.”
Amy Comander was recognized among OncoDaily’s ‘Top 100 Xfluencers in Breast Cancer: Key Opinion Leaders to Follow on X (Twitter) in 2024’, highlighting their contributions to the field of oncology.
Nominations for ‘100 Influential People in Oncology 2026’ are now open, recognizing leaders, researchers, clinicians, innovators, advocates, and other individuals making a meaningful impact on oncology and cancer care.
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