Getting ready for your cancer treatment
Recent studies have found that preparing for cancer treatment so patients are as fit as possible before it starts – known as prehabilitation or ‘prehab’ - can often mean they require less time in hospital, cope better with any side effects of their treatment, and recover more quickly.
Prehabilitation services can include being offered support and advice with diet and nutrition, opportunities to participate in physical activity and exercise interventions, and psychological support to improve emotional well being. Guidance for lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation may also be provided.
RM Partners, the West London Cancer Alliance, is keen to develop services to support people with their well being through their cancer treatment.
We want to hear from you about what would help you, for example, what type of services would be beneficial and where would you want to access these.
We are also keen to hear from people who have some form of prehab to understand what worked well, what didn't, and what you might change if you could.
Please share an idea below, or ask a question.
This is just the beginning of the project, if you want to keep up to date with the next stages please click on 'stay informed' on the right or register to hear about other involvement opportunities as our work progresses.
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Have you got good examples of 'prehabilitation' to share?
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10 months ago
More Specialist Nurses
Prior to a stem cell transplant, my wife and I (the patient) spent nearly 3 hours with a specialist nurse going through every detail of the treatment and how to reduce its impact. This helped enormously in allowing a rapid recovery and minimising in patient stay.
9 months ago
Anxiety
Waiting for treatment to start seems to be a time of uncertainty and anxiety for some people. As well as any physical benefits of prehab maybe some people could feel a bit better by having something they can do themselves. is there any evidence of a psychological benefit from prehab?
10 months ago
What types of food and vegetables can boost the immune system so that improve the effects of the targeted therapy drugs.
Immune system support
6 months ago
My father was prescribed special pre hab drinks that he had to take a couple of days before his surgery I believe.
4 months ago
Put together a gentle fitness regime
I found that trying to keep fit during treatment helped me focus on my recovery. I put together a daily plan that involved daily, but very light exercise, from going for a walk to lifting some weights (in the form of half-empty tins of paint!!). I also wrote out all the head, neck and swallowing exercises I had to do, and made sure I ticked these off every day. This alone felt I was accomplishing something and aiding quicker recovery from radiation treatment to my head and neck.
