Study: Excerise May Help Breast Cancer Patients Keep The Disease Away

DETROIT (WWJ) -- New research shows that women diagnosed with breast cancer can increase their odds of survival and their quality of life with physical activity. The challenge, the report concluded, is that most survivors aren't getting enough exercise.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina concluded that the majority of women in a large breast cancer study did not meet national physical activity guidelines after diagnosis.

The study looked at pre and post-diagnosis physical activity levels in more than 1,700 breast cancer patients between the ages of 20 and 74.

Only 35 percent of survivors met current physical activity guidelines post-diagnosis. 59 percent reported exercising less six months after their diagnosis -- cutting out the equivalent of five hours a week of brisk walking.

African-American women -- who are statistically more likely to die from breast cancer -- were about 40 percent less likely to meet national physical activity guidelines post-diagnosis.