Exercise is not a complement. It is essential treatment.
Each year, more than 32,000 Spanish men receive a prostate cancer diagnosis, most of them past the age of 65 — an age when the body is often treated as something to be managed rather than mobilized. Yet a coalition of Spanish medical organizations is now making a case that cuts against that assumption: supervised physical exercise, practiced with intention and guidance, can reduce the risk of dying from prostate cancer by as much as one third. Launched in Madrid during Movember, the campaign 'Nothing Will Stop Us' asks medicine to treat movement not as encouragement, but as prescription — and asks a healthcare system to close the distance between what science knows and what patients can reach.
- Prostate cancer kills thousands of Spanish men each year, yet a proven intervention — supervised exercise — remains out of reach for most patients due to structural gaps in the healthcare system.
- The tension is sharp: evidence from major international studies confirms exercise reduces mortality risk by 30%, lowers PSA levels, and eases the brutal side effects of hormone therapy, yet clinical integration is fragmented and uneven.
- A coalition of oncologists, urologists, and patient associations convened in Madrid to launch a national campaign, spotlighting specialized exercise units at three hospitals as models worth replicating across the country.
- Doctors are reframing the conversation entirely — exercise is no longer optional lifestyle advice but a clinical tool that improves survival, preserves muscle mass, and restores emotional wellbeing across every stage of treatment.
- The campaign now faces its real test: whether visibility and advocacy can translate into funded, accessible oncology rehabilitation programs before another generation of patients goes without them.
Spain's leading cancer and urology organizations gathered at a Madrid sports facility this month to make a pointed argument: men with prostate cancer who exercise regularly live longer, and the healthcare system has an obligation to make that possible.
The stakes are not abstract. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Spanish men, with over 32,000 new diagnoses expected this year. It is the third leading cause of male cancer death in the country. Nine in ten patients are over 65, with a median diagnosis age of 75. And yet, despite a favorable prognosis for most cases, structured exercise programs remain inaccessible to the majority of those who could benefit from them.
The evidence supporting exercise is both broad and specific. Physical activity can reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer by up to 30 percent. For those already diagnosed, 225 minutes of moderate weekly exercise can lower PSA levels and slow tumor progression. During treatment — particularly hormone therapy — exercise preserves muscle mass, protects bone density, improves cardiovascular capacity, and reduces fatigue and anxiety. These benefits hold across every phase of care.
Dr. Víctor Sacristán, who leads the oncology exercise working group at the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology, was direct: supervised exercise is not a complement to treatment — it is treatment. His colleague Dr. Ana García Tello, a urologist at Madrid's Hospital Universitario de Getafe, acknowledged the contradiction plainly: the science is solid, but the infrastructure to deliver it is not.
The campaign, titled 'Nothing Will Stop Us' and launched during Movember, aims to change that. By documenting specialized exercise units at hospitals in Getafe, Valencia, and A Coruña, it seeks to make these programs visible and push for their expansion nationwide. The deeper question it raises is whether Spain's healthcare system will finally align its resources with what its own doctors already know works.
Spain's leading medical organizations gathered this month to make a simple but consequential argument: men with prostate cancer who exercise regularly live longer. The claim rests on solid ground. Research from the American College of Sports Medicine shows that physical activity can reduce mortality risk from prostate cancer by as much as one in three patients. The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology, the Prostate Cancer Association, and several other professional bodies convened at a Madrid sports facility to launch a campaign called "Nothing Will Stop Us," designed to push supervised exercise into the mainstream treatment of prostate cancer—not as a nice-to-have complement, but as an essential part of care.
The numbers underscore why this matters. Spain will diagnose more than 32,000 prostate cancer cases this year. It is the most common cancer in Spanish men and the third leading cause of cancer death in the male population, after lung and colon cancers. Most patients are older—90 percent are over 65, with a median diagnosis age of 75. Yet here is the paradox: while roughly 90 percent of cases carry a favorable prognosis, many men never gain access to structured exercise programs that could meaningfully improve their survival and quality of life.
The evidence for exercise is remarkably broad. Physical activity reduces the risk of developing prostate cancer by up to 30 percent in the first place. For men already diagnosed, 225 minutes of moderate weekly activity can lower PSA levels—the prostate-specific antigen that doctors use to monitor disease progression—and slow tumor growth, all without serious side effects. During treatment, exercise improves heart and lung capacity, reduces fatigue and anxiety, and helps preserve muscle mass, which is especially critical for men undergoing hormone therapy. The benefits extend across all stages: before treatment begins, during active therapy, and in the recovery phase afterward.
Dr. Víctor Sacristán, who leads the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology's exercise and cancer working group, framed the shift plainly: exercise is not optional advice. It is treatment. "The scientific evidence demonstrates that supervised exercise helps improve tolerance to treatments, reduces side effects like fatigue and muscle loss, and contributes to better functional and emotional recovery," he said. "Increasingly, we have data showing it can influence survival itself." For men on hormone therapy, preventing bone density loss and muscle wasting becomes a cornerstone of care—something exercise directly addresses.
Yet a critical gap persists. Despite the evidence, integration into routine clinical practice remains patchy. Many patients lack access to professionally supervised programs. Dr. Ana García Tello, a urologist at Madrid's Hospital Universitario de Getafe, acknowledged the contradiction: exercise is safe and effective, the science is solid, but the infrastructure to deliver it remains limited. This is where the "Nothing Will Stop Us" campaign enters. By documenting specialized exercise units at three major Spanish hospitals—in Getafe, Valencia, and A Coruña—the initiative aims to make these programs visible, push for their expansion, and convince both patients and doctors that structured oncology exercise should be standard practice, not a luxury.
The campaign launched during Movember, the November awareness month focused on men's health. It represents a fundamental shift in how prostate cancer is approached: away from passive acceptance of disease and toward active participation in recovery. Supervised exercise, strength training, and functional fitness have become, in the words of Dr. Miguel Ángel Berenguer, a radiation oncologist in Valencia, "indispensable pillars" of cancer treatment. The question now is whether Spain's healthcare system will match the evidence with resources—whether the gap between what doctors know works and what patients can actually access will finally begin to close.
Notable Quotes
Exercise is not a complement or general recommendation. It is an essential part of cancer treatment, and prostate cancer is no exception.— Dr. Víctor Sacristán, Spanish Society of Medical Oncology
Despite solid scientific evidence, integration into clinical practice remains limited and many patients lack access to structured programs.— Dr. Ana García Tello, Spanish Association of Urology
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does exercise matter so much for prostate cancer specifically? Isn't it just general health advice?
It's much more targeted than that. Men on hormone therapy—which is standard treatment—lose muscle and bone density rapidly. Exercise directly counteracts that. You're not just feeling better; you're preserving the physical capacity to tolerate the treatment itself.
The 30 percent mortality reduction—is that proven, or is it still emerging?
It's from cohort studies, so it's strong evidence but not yet the gold standard of randomized trials. But the consistency across multiple studies is striking. And the mechanism is clear: better fitness, less treatment toxicity, preserved muscle, better outcomes.
If the evidence is this clear, why aren't all Spanish hospitals offering these programs?
That's the real problem. It takes money, trained staff, space, coordination between oncologists and exercise specialists. Many hospitals simply don't have the infrastructure. It's not skepticism; it's resource scarcity.
Who benefits most—newly diagnosed men, or those further along in treatment?
All stages, actually. Prevention matters, but for men already sick, exercise during treatment is when the benefit is most dramatic. It's the difference between tolerating chemotherapy and being knocked flat by side effects.
What does supervised exercise actually look like for a 75-year-old man with prostate cancer?
It's not CrossFit. It's tailored strength work, cardio adapted to their fitness level, done under professional watch to make sure it's safe. The supervision is crucial—it prevents injury and ensures the prescription matches the individual's treatment stage and tolerance.
So the campaign is really about access, not about convincing doctors?
Exactly. The doctors are convinced. The campaign is saying: these programs exist, they work, and they should be available to everyone, not just patients lucky enough to be near a major hospital with the resources to run one.