Komen Oregon research reveals exercise benefits

Some of that research is happening right here in Oregon.

Dr. Kerri Winters-Stone is an exercise scientist at the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. She recently completed a three-year study funded by the Komen organization on the effects of exercise on women 50 years of age and older, who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Chemotherapy treatments are hard on the body, and often sap a woman's energy, making her not want to exercise, which adds to the risk of bone fractures and falls.

Winters-Stone and her research team based their study on an exercise program designed at Oregon State University for cancer-free women. She had breast cancer survivors follow that OSU strength-training program consistently for a year.

“What we were interested in was, could we take those same exercises that were effective in women without cancer and apply them to women who've gone through breast cancer treatment and will they be equally effective?” Dr. Winters-Stone explained. “So, can women with breast cancer train the same way, at the same level, that women without breast cancer can, so they can achieve the same benefits?”

After one year on the exercise program, the breast cancer survivors who participated were able to stop bone loss in their spine and developed 25% more strength in their arms and legs, which helped them function better overall, and reduce their risk of falls.

This year's Eugene Race for the Cure will be held on Sunday, October 23, at Autzen Stadium.