Prof Schmitz, of the Penn State Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania, is president of the American College of Sports Medicine.
She is a leading researcher on exercise and cancer and is visiting Dunedin.
It was widely recognised that appropriate physical exercise contributed strongly to recovery and good health among heart patients, when combined with standard cardiac treatment, she said in an interview.
She wanted to raise awareness of the crucial role played by appropriate exercise, including increased walking, in preventing many cancers and improving outcomes for many cancer survivors.
"If you’re doing nothing, do something," she urged.
"If you’re doing something, do more."If you’re doing more, that’s great."
Prof Schmitz is a keynote speaker at a two-day Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand conference, which began in Dunedin yesterday.
She praised as one of the best in the world an exercise clinic run for breast cancer survivors run by Dr Lynette Jones, of the Otago School of Physical Education, Sports and Exercise Science, in close co-ordination with Dunedin Hospital’s oncology department and medical oncologist Dr Blair McLaren.
This programme was a rare "international example" of how to encourage cancer-related exercise, she said.
Prof Schmitz will give a public talk on "Exercise is Medicine in Oncology" at the university’s Dental Blue Lecture Theatre, entrance off Frederick St, at 6pm on Monday.
