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The evidence keeps rolling in: Exercise can be one of your most important cancer treatments. For anyone dealing with a cancer diagnosis, that's great news. Starting — or maintaining — an exercise program can empower you to move out of a more passive "patient" role; it'll help improve not just your well-being but your attitude, too.

Sara Mansfield, M.S., a certified cancer exercise trainer at Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, says physical activity can help people before, during and after cancer treatment. "Loving family members may be urging a person with a cancer diagnosis to rest," she says, "but that can lead to a functional decline. Research tells us, in general, it's better to move more than less."

Mansfield recommends that any person with cancer first discuss an exercise program with his or her health care provider. Once you've got the green light, she says, start moving. If you've been sedentary for a while, start walking, which will help build muscle and stamina.