Exercise During Cancer Treatment

This page is for people in cancer treatment, and the people who support them. It covers how much activity to aim for, what the research shows, and how to stay safe.

Exercise during cancer treatment is not just permitted. It is recommended, and the recommendation comes with figures.

The American Cancer Society says people with cancer should build up to at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. Or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity. It also calls for muscle-strengthening exercise on at least 2 days a week.

Those are targets to build toward, not a starting line. ACS advises beginning gradually, even with brief daily activity.

In 2018 the American College of Sports Medicine convened an international roundtable. It reviewed the evidence. NCI reports its conclusions. The useful part is that they are graded, not uniform.

Strong evidence:

• Aerobic training at moderate intensity, resistance exercise, or both, during and after treatment, reduces anxiety, low mood, and fatigue.
• Exercise training is safe in people who have, or might develop, breast cancer-related lymphedema.

Insufficient evidence: that activity prevents heart damage from treatment. Or that it prevents chemotherapy-induced nerve damage in the hands and feet. Or that it improves thinking.

That last list matters. If someone tells you exercise will protect your nerves during chemotherapy, the evidence does not currently support it.

Fatigue is where the evidence is strongest. NCI's fatigue summary for health professionals lists physical activity among the approaches the National Comprehensive Cancer Network rates as category 1 for cancer-related fatigue. That is its top tier. NCI's patient page on fatigue also lists exercise as a way to manage it.

NCI says there are things a person can do even while staying in bed. Check with your care team before starting.

Observational studies have linked activity to better survival in three cancers. NCI reports:

• Breast cancer. A 2019 review and meta-analysis compared the most active survivors with the least active. The most active had a 42% lower risk of death from any cause. They had a 40% lower risk of death from breast cancer.
• Colorectal cancer. Activity after diagnosis was associated with a 30% lower risk of death from colorectal cancer and a 38% lower risk of death from any cause.
• Prostate cancer. Limited evidence linked activity after diagnosis with a 33% lower risk of death from prostate cancer and a 45% lower risk of death from any cause.

NCI is careful about what these mean. Observational studies cannot fully separate exercise from other healthy habits that active people tend to share. Randomized trials are under way to settle it. They include BWEL in newly diagnosed breast cancer, CHALLENGE in colon cancer after chemotherapy, and INTERVAL-GAP4 in metastatic prostate cancer.

For other cancers, check with your care team about what is known.

What you can do depends on your cancer type and stage, your treatment, and how you feel. If you were inactive, start small. Short, slow walks count. NCI names swimming, walking, yoga, and biking as activities that help many people feel more energetic. Never having exercised is not a barrier.

ACS advises including variety over time: cardio, strength training and stretching, with a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down. Stay as active as your condition allows, and build up gradually.

Whatever stage you are at, some health problems mean your care team may want to give the go-ahead before you start. Check with your health care team before starting a program, and specifically if any of these apply to you:

• Heart or lung disease.
• Severe fatigue.
• Balance problems or unsteadiness on your feet.
• Weak bones, or cancer that has spread to bone.

Also ask whether any of your medicines affect how active you can be.

These are specific enough to act on:

• Do not exercise above a moderate level of exertion without talking to your doctor first.
• Skip exercise entirely on a day when you feel dizzy or unsteady.
• Stop and call your doctor right away for swelling, pain, dizziness, or changes in vision. Call 911 for chest pain, fainting, or severe shortness of breath.
• Also stop and call for fever, or for pain that is not controlled.

ACS suggests considering a certified trainer who knows your cancer diagnosis. Check with your doctor first, and make sure the trainer knows any limits you have been given.

A few related pages go further. For what changes once treatment ends, see exercise after cancer treatment. For eating alongside activity, see nutrition during treatment. If numbness in your hands or feet is the barrier, see exercise with neuropathy. For the weeks in a cycle that need the most caution, see exercise when blood counts are low.

• American Cancer Society, Physical Activity and the Person with Cancer, accessed August 6, 2026
• National Cancer Institute, Physical Activity and Cancer, reviewed February 10, 2020; accessed August 6, 2026
• National Cancer Institute, Cancer Fatigue, opened October 2, 2026
• National Cancer Institute, Fatigue (PDQ) — Health Professional Version, accessed August 9, 2026
• National Cancer Institute, Day-to-Day Life: Keeping Your Daily Routine, accessed August 9, 2026