August 1, 2008
Why You Should Just Do It.
 In 2004 I traveled to Tanzania, first to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and then to safari on the vast plains of the Serengeti. In addition to the many unusual provisions I was required to buy for this two-pronged adventure, I also treated myself to a new pair of tennis shoes, shown in the photograph to the right: they cost about $100.
I think you will agree that these tennis shoes still look good; and I can tell you they still wear well. I wear them when I take my 3-mile morning walks, four times a week. I wear them to the gym for my personal training, three times a week. And I often wear them just because they are so comfortable. But there is more than comfort that comes with these tennis shoes.
Regular exercise, such as walking briskly for an hour, four times per week, can reduce your risk of breast cancer on average 30-40%. (See the scientific articles referenced below: I encourage you to read them for yourself.) The benefit of regular exercise for reducing the risk of breast cancer applies to all women, of all ages, from all ethnic backgrounds, and also to women who have other known risk factors for breast cancer.
Furthermore, for women who have had breast cancer and who begin to exercise regularly, exercise improves overall survival by 50%. (The scientific article that revealed this important finding was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2005 and is also referenced below.)
Let's consider for a moment how the benefits of exercise compare to the benefits of chemotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer.
Chemotherapy can improve overall survival for breast cancer on average 25-30%. This important benefit costs on average $8,000 - if you are not given the more expensive drugs, and you do not suffer any of the side effects associated with these agents.
Aromatase inhibitors, like Arimidex, are wonderful drugs that can improve survival from breast cancer on average 25%, but the total cost per patient is over $5000.
Herceptin, a truly remarkable breakthrough drug, can improve survival from breast cancer by 30-40%, but it costs about $36,000 for one year of treatment. (In my opinion, this price point is exorbitant and punitive for a cancer patient.)
Now let’s revisit the value of a $100 pair of tennis shoes that can last at least four years, reduce your risk of breast cancer by 30-40% and, if you have breast cancer, can improve your survival by 50%. That’s cost effectiveness that Medicare and the private insurers can only dream of. But that dream can be yours: just do it.
Regards,
Kathleen T. Ruddy, MD
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