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Explain It! is a video series that spotlights the fascinating and impactful research taking place at OHSU.
By Josh Friesen

Kerri Winters-Stone, Ph.D., envisions a health care future where exercise isn’t just a strongly suggested add-on to cancer treatment.  

It’s prescribed as part of cancer treatment.  

“Exercise — it’s like the best pill you could ever take,” Winters-Stone said. “In the data I see, my observations — movement is medicine. Exercise has got to be standard of care.” 

Winters-Stone, the Penny and Phil Knight Endowed Professor in Cancer Research Innovation at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, studies the effects of exercise-based approaches to improve outcomes in cancer survivors.  

Over the years, Winters-Stone has developed over a dozen controlled clinical exercise trials involving over 2,500 cancer survivors and a diverse array of exercise techniques. Winters-Stone headed an OHSU-led panel that recently published a consensus statement in the journal, Cancer, highlighting the importance of exercise for cancer survivors older than 65. Funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, the panel, Advancing Capacity to Integrate Exercise Into the Care of Older Cancer Survivors, advocates for recommendations aimed at dispelling myths that exercise is too risky for older cancer survivors.  

“Even just a little bit of exercise,” Winters-Stone says, “can go a long way toward supplementing a person’s cancer treatment. Not only can exercise help those with cancer stay independent and engaged, it can help speed up treatment and recovery.”  

Winters-Stone has spent much of her career getting the data to back that up. 

“To get health care systems to adopt something like exercise, we have to do rigorous science,” she said. “I do a lot of clinical trials. These are controlled trials. They’re hard to do, they take long periods of time, and we ask people to do a lot to participate. But it means when we look at the results, we can feel confident that whatever intervention or exercise program we develop, we’re going to continue to see the same benefits for people.”  

“For someone who has cancer, if they’re able to stay active, it can help manage their symptoms and side effects from really difficult treatment,” she said. “That means they can get more treatment. If they get more treatment, they have a better chance of curing their cancer.” 

“Not only can exercise help those with cancer stay independent and engaged, it can help speed up treatment and recovery.”  

Kerri Winters-Stone

Most oncologists will encourage their patients to stay active during treatment. A patient receiving a tailored exercise regimen, integrating their exercise plan into the broader standard of care and having it be paid for by insurance or Medicare, however, is Winters-Stone’s ultimate goal.  

“It’s our obligation to provide that coaching, guidance and support,” she said. “That’s going to improve a person’s fight through cancer and really be part of that whole person-care that we’re looking for.”  

Federal cuts in research funding have forced scientists like Winters-Stone to begin looking toward other avenues to support their work. As financial support from traditional funding sources like the National Institutes of Health becomes tighter, she hopes private philanthropy can fill a vital need. 

“We’re all going to benefit from the work that’s being done,” Winters-Stone said. “Private funders are stepping in to help fill the gap, and it’s been more important than ever to get that kind of support so we can keep this research going.”