If you’re a Nigerian woman who has survived cancer or you know someone who has, this message is for you.

Science is now saying what many of our mothers and grandmothers already knew: movement is medicine. A new international study at the American Heart Association’s Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2025 found that even simple daily activities like walking can significantly increase your chances of staying alive, especially after cancer.

Here’s what the researchers discovered—and why every Nigerian auntie, sister, and mama needs to take this seriously.

Researchers in the United States tracked more than 2,600 women aged 63 to 99, all of whom had survived cancer (over half had breast cancer). For four years, these women wore special devices (called accelerometers) that tracked how much they moved every day—everything from sweeping the floor to strolling to the market.

They then followed the women’s health for another eight years.

The big question? Would being more active help, these older cancer survivors live longer? The answer was a big YES.

• Women who took 5,000–6,000 steps daily had a 40% lower risk of dying from any cause—whether it was heart disease, cancer, or something else.
• When they looked specifically at heart disease, every extra 2,500 steps per day cut the risk of dying from heart-related issues by 34%.
• Women who exercised at a moderate to vigorous level (like brisk walking, dancing, or even washing clothes by hand) for at least an hour daily had a 60% lower risk of dying from heart disease and 40% lower risk of dying from any cause.
• Even lighter activity—like doing house chores, slow walking, or running errands—was linked to better health outcomes than sitting all day.

The study didn’t just look at how much women walked, they also tracked how much time they spent sitting. And this part is scary:

• Every additional 1 hour and 42 minutes of daily sitting (about 102 minutes) raised the risk of dying by 12% overall and by 30% from heart disease.

In other words, if you’re surviving cancer and your daily routine looks like this: Wake up, sit and watch TV, sit and eat, sit in traffic, sit at church or mosque, sit some more….you could be unknowingly increasing your risk of dying—even if you’re technically cancer-free.

“But I’m Tired After Treatment!”

Of course, you are. Treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy can leave the body feeling weak and drained. But that’s precisely why gentle movement is important.

Movement helps you regain strength, improve your mood, reduce anxiety, and—now we know—live longer.

Dr. Eric Hyde, the lead researcher from the University of California, put it this way: “Encouraging cancer survivors to be more active, sit less, and take more steps daily could boost survivorship and reduce heart disease.”

Even if you can’t jog or go to the gym, just moving more around your compound, dancing to music, or walking around your neighbourhood can make a difference.