Cancer survivors with healthy habits have better lives

Cancer survivors who avoid tobacco, eat more fruits and vegetables and get adequate exercise have higher health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores than those who don't follow such recommendations.

Washington, April 30 (IANS) Cancer survivors who avoid tobacco, eat more fruits and vegetables and get adequate exercise have higher health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores than those who don't follow such recommendations.

Researchers at the American Cancer Society used data from more than 9,000 survivors to arrive at their conclusion.

The analysis revealed that eight out of 10 survivors were not meeting the "five-a-day" fruit and vegetable consumption recommendation. Up to seven out of 10 were not meeting recommendations for physical activity.

Meanwhile, survivors were more likely to be non-smokers than those without a history of cancer (82.6 to 91.6 percent). Only about one in 20 survivors was meeting all three lifestyle behaviour recommendations.

The study also found higher HRQoL in survivors who were meeting each lifestyle behaviour recommendation, with the strongest associations emerging for physical activity.

And the more lifestyle behaviours cancer survivors met, the higher their HRQoL score, regardless of the type of cancer.

The findings of the study are slated to appear in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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