Tania Small/ LinkedIn
Tania Small: What Will it Take to Make Diet And Exercise Part of Standard Cancer Care
Tania Small, SVP, Head of Medical Affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb, shared on LinkedIn:
”We treat the tumor with precision. Why not the biology around it?
In oncology, we have learned to understand tumors with extraordinary precision. Their mutations. Their pathways. Their vulnerabilities
And we can treat many tumors in ways that would have been unimaginable not long ago
But exercise? Nutrition? sleep? Metabolic health?
Most of us were not trained to think of those as part of cancer treatment… I know i wasn’t!! But the evidence is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss
A structured exercise program after chemotherapy improved <a href="https://healthylife7.com/deadly-oak-tree-disease-confirmed-in-monroe-county-for-first-time/” title=”Deadly oak tree disease confirmed in Monroe County for first time”>disease-free survival in colon cancer and reduced the risk of death by 37%
Greater physical activity after a breast cancer diagnosis has been associated with an approximately 40% lower risk of breast cancer-related death
And early research in MGUS and smoldering myeloma is exploring whether a high-fiber, plant-based diet can shift the microbiome, influence immune biology, and affect disease progression
This is not wellness. This is biology… It’s metabolism. Inflammation. Adipose tissue. Immune signaling. The microbiome. The tumor microenvironment
And it deserves the same rigor we bring to every other part of cancer care
But rigor means more than telling patients to exercise, eat better, and sleep more, then leaving them to figure it out while carrying treatment, fatigue, pain, fear, work, and family
The responsibility cannot sit with the patient alone
At ASCO, I brought together Dr. Neil Iyengar, Arianna Huffington,andChris Boerner to examine the biology, the evidence, the science of behavior change, and what healthcare systems must build so more patients can benefit
This is Beyond the Tumor: From Biology to Behavior Change, a DoctoRx Unscripted short film
The science is here. Now we have to put it into practice. Watch the film. Then tell me: what will it take to make this part of standard cancer care?”
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Arianna HuffingtonBreast CancercancerChris BoernerColon cancerDr. Neil IyengarMyelomaOncoDailyOncologyTania Small
