Exercise as Medicine: P.C.R.I. Q&A with Rob Newton

Rob Newton's most recent explanation of his research. I can't understand why most doctors pretend that exercise isn't something they should be prescribing for their patients as vigorously as they prescribe ADT. Rob has the data, and he has the energy to try to change this world.

At one point in the video, Rob gets emphatic: “Exercise is treated now as first-line therapy”. What he means is it should be treated as first line therapy, because at present, US oncologists pretend they don't see how exercise could be used as a first line treatment, if it was any good anyway.

Rob pauses. “Wow. It's first-line therapy because of the CHALLENGE study”.

The phase 3 CHALLENGE study https://www.asco.org/about-asco/press-center/news-releases/movement-medicine-structured-exercise-program-challenge result was that a group of patients that were prescribed a structured exercise program in one arm of the study had a 28% lower risk of recurrent or new cancers developing than patients in the control arm.

And the thing is, no one was telling the control arm patients not to exercise - in fact, they received health education materials that encouraged then to do so. I wonder how much of a benefit the structured exercise group would have compared to a typical group who were offered the standard no mention of exercise while they are slashed, burnt and drugged while being told they are getting the best treatment available.

I think about my radiation oncologist explaining to me that for less of a benefit than the CHALLENGE study demonstrated that structured exercise is, I should go on his prescribed ADT program for 2 years. When I brought up exercise and mentioned Rob, he politely ignored me.

Rob continued: “We now have a randomized controlled trial in a large number of patients that shows it has a direct causative effect in increasing survival.”