A lot of articles speak of the virtues and benefits of lifting as pertaining to the here and now, including physical appeal to others (be it romantic, or otherwise) and general health.

I'd like to touch on a more in-depth level and that is long term benefits. Obviously, being in shape and eating well are going to pay off into your senior years by keeping you active, but what about when you face EOL?

Let's be real. Barring a freak accident, you're going to die of some natural cause, and mostly likely that will be cancer. It's almost a guarantee that if you live long enough, your body is going to turn against you.

As someone who has seen friends and family deteriorate from cancer and cancer treatment, I can tell you several things; 1) It destroys the body, and 2) It doesn't care how much money you make nor how many people love you.

That being said, there are two deciding factors to increasing your chances of surviving cancer.

Diet

Cancer can be slowed or progressed based on your diet. Some cancers respond to sugars, and so it is important to lower, drastically, your intake.

Other types feed on hormone levels, which can be controlled by omitting certain foods (and possibly some supplements), or by eating certain types.

If you've never watched your diet in any serious way, it's difficult to do this cold turkey on day-one of your cancer diagnosis. Better to start now while you have a chance to grow into a routine and sustain that will power. It will definitely make the changes easier when push comes to shove.

Physical Strength

This isn't so much against the cancer itself. While it helps, the main reason is that most certainly there will be chemo therapy associated with your treatment, and possibly surgery as well.

Doctors generally prescribe a regimen of chemo based on the patients ability to basically handle slowly being killed while attempting to kill the cancer. In other words, you have to be stronger than the cancer.

If a patient is weak and out of shape, they can't sustain treatment as long as a much healthier person. The stronger you are, the more chemo they can shoot at that cancer before having to stop, which obviously increases the chances of killing it off.

Also, chemo is painful and debilitating. The healthier your body, the better you'll be able to handle its effects.

The main point is, you can't ask cancer to hold off for 3-6 months while you get in shape before starting your treatment. Chances are, you'll be dead by then. Best to be in shape before hand.

TL;DR

Cancer doesn't care who you are, so you better be prepared for it by being healthy in advance and having the will power to control your diet now. There's no do-over.

EDIT: Typos