Listening
Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
- keep (something) at bay / kip æt beɪ / (idiom) – to stop something bad from happening or to control it
Example:Wearing a mask helps keep some illnesses at bay.
- rival / ˈraɪ vəl / (v.) – to be as good as or better than someone or something else
Example:The new smartphone has amazing features, rivaling those of the most expensive models.
- recurrence / rɪˈkɜr əns / (n.) – a situation in which something happens again, especially something bad
Example:After she recovered from her illness, the doctor advised her to rest to prevent any fever recurrences.
- sedentary / ˈsɛd nˌtɛr I / (adj.) – involving little exercise or physical activity
Example:People with sedentary jobs sit at a desk most of the day.
- randomly / ˈræn dəm li / (adv.) – in a way that is without a plan, pattern, or reason
Example:The teacher randomly chose a name from a box, so no student knew who would be picked next.
Article
Read the text below.
A three-year exercise program improved survival in colon cancer patients and kept the disease at bay, a first-of-its-kind international experiment showed.
With the benefits rivaling some drugs, experts said cancer centers and insurance plans should consider making exercise coaching a new standard of care for colon cancer survivors. Until then, patients can increase their physical activity after treatment, knowing they are doing their part to prevent cancer from coming back.
“It’s an extremely exciting study,” said Dr. Jeffrey Meyerhardt of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who wasn’t involved in the research. It’s the first randomized controlled trial to show a reduction in cancer recurrences and improved survival linked to exercise, Meyerhardt said.
Prior evidence was based on comparing active people with sedentary people, a type of study that can’t prove cause and effect. The new study—conducted in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States—compared people who were randomly selected for an exercise program with those who instead received an educational booklet.
“This is about as high a quality of evidence as you can get,” said Dr. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). “I love this study because it’s something I’ve been promoting but with less strong evidence for a long time.”
The findings were featured at ASCO’s annual meeting in Chicago and published by the New England Journal of Medicine. Academic research groups in Canada, Australia and the U.K. funded the work.
Researchers followed 889 patients with treatable colon cancer who had completed chemotherapy. Half were given information promoting fitness and nutrition. The others worked with a coach, meeting every two weeks for a year, then monthly for the next two years.
Coaches helped participants find ways to increase their physical activity.
After eight years, the people in the structured exercise program not only became more active than those in the control group but also had 28% fewer cancers and 37% fewer deaths from any cause. There were more muscle strains and other similar problems in the exercise group.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
- In the study, people with a coach exercised more than those who only got information in a booklet. Why do you think information alone is sometimes not enough to change habits? What do you think people need in addition to advice? Discuss.
- What do you think makes it hard to keep up with healthy habits, like exercising or eating well? Do you think having a coach or a partner in keeping healthy habits would be a great help to you? Why or why not? Discuss.
Discussion B
- Experts now suggest that exercise programs should be included in cancer care, like checkups, medications, or hospital visits. Do you think health systems should pay for exercise coaching like they do for medicines? Why or why not? If these programs were part of your country’s health system, how do you think they would affect people’s health? Discuss.
- Many patients feel more positive when they know they can help their recovery. Why do you think that is? How do you feel after doing something healthy, like having enough sleep or exercising? Discuss.
