Published Jul 7, 2020

Alex Trebek’s Wife, Jean, Talks About The Importance Of Fitness — How Exercise Helps Cancer Patients And Survivors

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We all know there are immense benefits to exercising, even if we don’t love doing it. The long-lasting advantages in building strength and staying healthy are worth paying attention to. Alex Trebek’s wife, Jean Trebek, sat down with a fitness and wellness guru to hear how fitness can be fun. As Alex Trebek continues to battle pancreatic cancer, these tips could be extremely helpful.

Some people may believe cancer patients exercising as little as possible is the best way to stay healthy, but evidence proves that’s not the case.

In an interview on Trebek’s website Insidewink.com, she spoke to fitness instructor Dove Rose who explained how she got involved in fitness and shared some helpful tips on how to make exercise more enjoyable. According to Rose, her mother was a massage therapist, so health and wellness was something she grew up with. However, she decided to make fitness her career when she was attending her favorite exercise class, and was asked to lead the class when the instructor didn’t show up. She hasn’t looked back since.

To show people fitness can actually be fun, Trebek and Rose went through some easy exercise routines such as hula-hooping and jumping on a small trampoline. Trebek herself admits that she doesn’t necessarily enjoy working out, but seeing Rose’s positive energy while taking her morning classes at Dove’s Bodies made her prioritize her health.

The Benefits Of Exercise In Cancer Treatment

Rose’s quick lesson on how to craft easy and enjoyable work out routines certainly could come in handy for the Trebek family seeing as Alex Trebek, 79, has been battling cancer since 2019. The beloved Jeopardy host has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for the disease.

Research has found that people with cancer who practice moderate exercise have had no negative side effects. In fact, seeing as one of the most common side effects to chemotherapy is fatigue, studies showed that people who exercise regularly typically experience 40% to 50% less fatigue.

"Lack of exercise actually begets fatigue," Dr. Marleen Meyers, a medical oncologist and Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous conversation about how to deal with some of chemo's most difficult side effects. "So the best treatment for fatigue is exercise. What we have to do is get people over the hump, to get initial exercise going."

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Exercise Reducing The Risk Of A Cancer Diagnosis

The role of diet and exercise plays a very important role in determine someone’s cancer risk. However, it’s important to note that there’s no specific “cancer diet,” and doctors recommend people follow basic health guidelines regardless if they have a diagnosis or not.

Dr. Ken Miller, the Director of Outpatient Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, shared some tips with SurvivorNet for the cancer community on the most effective ways to stay healthy.

Exercise at least two hours a week walking counts
Eat a low-fat diet
Eat a colorful diet with lots of fruits and vegetables doctors recommend two to three cups a day
Maintain a healthy weight

Dr. Ken Miller says a healthy diet and regular workout routine are important

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