Questions about cancer, exercise and recovery

Yes, and the evidence is now strong enough that major cancer organisations, including Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK, and the World Cancer Research Fund, include physical activity as a formal recommendation for cancer survivors. What the research shows: - Breast cancer: Regular physical activity after treatment is associated with a 20–40% reduction in recurrence risk and cancer-specific mortality. - Colorectal cancer: Survivors who are physically active have approximately a 30% lower risk of recurrence compared to inactive survivors. - Prostate cancer: Exercise reduces the progression risk for men with early-stage disease and improves survival outcomes for those on active surveillance. How exercise provides this protection: - Reducing systemic inflammation: Chronic inflammation promotes tumour growth. Regular exercise lowers key inflammatory markers (such as CRP and IL-6) in the body. - Improving insulin regulation: High circulating insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) are linked to cancer cell proliferation. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity and reduces these circulating levels. - Enhancing immune surveillance: Moderate-intensity exercise improves the activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells, a key component of the immune system's ability to identify and destroy abnormal cells. - Reducing body fat: Excess adipose tissue produces oestrogen and other hormones that can fuel hormone-sensitive cancers. Exercise helps achieve and maintain a healthy body composition. Important context: Exercise is not a replacement for medical treatment. It is an evidence-based intervention that works alongside your oncology care to improve your long-term outcomes. A Clinical Exercise Physiologist ensures your programme is at the right intensity and volume to achieve these protective benefits safely.

The honest answer is that virtually every cancer type benefits from clinical exercise, before, during, and after treatment. However, the evidence base is strongest and the clinical pathways are most established for the following: Breast Cancer: The most extensively researched area. Exercise during and after treatment reduces fatigue, improves quality of life, manages lymphoedema risk, and has strong evidence for reducing recurrence risk. Resistance training is particularly important for counteracting the bone density loss caused by aromatase inhibitors. Prostate Cancer: Men on Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) experience significant muscle loss, weight gain, fatigue, and increased cardiovascular risk. Resistance training directly counteracts all of these effects and is now considered standard supportive care alongside ADT. Colorectal Cancer: Exercise before surgery (Prehab) reduces post-operative complications and shortens hospital stays. Post-treatment exercise is associated with reduced recurrence risk and improved long-term survival. Lung Cancer: Pulmonary rehabilitation using clinical exercise improves breathlessness, functional capacity, and quality of life. Prehab before lung surgery improves post-operative outcomes. Haematological Cancers (Leukaemia, Lymphoma): Patients undergoing stem cell transplants benefit significantly from exercise programmes that maintain muscle mass and cardiovascular fitness during prolonged treatment and isolation periods. The key principle: The specific exercises, intensity, and safety precautions vary enormously between cancer types and treatment protocols. A Clinical Exercise Physiologist tailors every programme to your diagnosis, your treatment, and your individual response. There is no one size fits all cancer exercise programme.

The end of active cancer treatment is often described by patients as falling off a cliff. The regular hospital appointments stop, the medical team steps back, and you are left to recover on your own, often while dealing with lasting side effects like fatigue, muscle loss, neuropathy, and reduced confidence in your body. A Clinical Exercise Physiologist provides the structured, evidence-based support that bridges this gap. Post-treatment recovery focuses on: Rebuilding Physical Capacity: Cancer treatment causes significant deconditioning. Your cardiovascular fitness, muscle mass, and functional strength will have declined, sometimes dramatically. A CEP designs a progressive programme that rebuilds these systematically, using objective measures to track your recovery. Managing Persistent Side Effects: - Cancer-related fatigue: Graded exercise is the single most effective intervention, outperforming pharmacological options. - Peripheral neuropathy: Balance training and proprioceptive exercises help manage the numbness and tingling in hands and feet caused by certain chemotherapy drugs. - Lymphoedema: Carefully prescribed resistance training (contrary to outdated advice) has been shown to reduce limb swelling and improve function. - Bone density loss: Weight-bearing and resistance exercises help counteract the effects of hormone therapies and prolonged inactivity. Psychological Recovery: Regaining confidence in your body after cancer is as important as the physical work. A CEP provides a safe, supervised environment where you can test your limits gradually, rebuilding trust in what your body can do. Long-Term Health Protection: Growing evidence shows that regular physical activity after cancer treatment reduces the risk of recurrence for several cancer types (including breast, colorectal, and prostate). A CEP helps you establish sustainable exercise habits that continue to protect your health for years to come.

Yes, and current NICE guidelines, Macmillan Cancer Support, and the American College of Sports Medicine all recommend maintaining physical activity during treatment wherever possible. However, the type, intensity, and timing of exercise must be carefully managed. This is where a Clinical Exercise Physiologist is essential, they understand the physiological effects of your specific treatment protocol and can adjust your programme accordingly. Key safety considerations: Immune Function: Chemotherapy lowers your white blood cell count (neutropenia), particularly in the days immediately following a cycle. Your CEP will schedule higher-intensity sessions during your good weeks and reduce intensity during your nadir (lowest immune point), typically days 7–14 of each cycle. Cardiovascular Effects: Certain chemotherapy drugs (particularly anthracyclines like Doxorubicin) are cardiotoxic, they can weaken the heart muscle. Your CEP monitors your heart rate response and perceived exertion closely and will adjust loading if you show signs of cardiac stress. Fatigue Management: Cancer-related fatigue is different from normal tiredness; rest does not resolve it. Paradoxically, low-to-moderate intensity exercise is one of the most effective treatments. Your CEP will help you find the sweet spot where movement reduces fatigue without causing a crash. Bone Health: If your cancer has metastasised to the bone, or if you are on treatments that reduce bone density (such as hormone therapies), your CEP will modify exercises to avoid high-impact or excessive spinal loading. The bottom line: Exercise during treatment is not about pushing through pain or fighting cancer with fitness. It is about maintaining your functional capacity, managing side effects, and arriving at the end of treatment in the best possible condition for recovery.

Cancer Prehabilitation (Prehab) is a structured exercise programme that begins between your diagnosis and the start of your treatment, whether that is surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy. Think of it as preparing your body for the physical demands of treatment, in the same way an athlete prepares for a competition. Why it matters: Cancer treatment is physically taxing. Surgery requires anaesthesia recovery and wound healing. Chemotherapy affects your cardiovascular system, muscle mass, and immune function. Radiotherapy causes fatigue that can last months. The fitter you are going into treatment, the better your body can tolerate these demands. What the evidence shows: - Patients who complete a Prehab programme before surgery experience fewer post-operative complications and shorter hospital stays. - Prehab before chemotherapy has been shown to reduce treatment-related fatigue by up to 30%. - Cardiovascular fitness at the start of treatment is one of the strongest predictors of recovery speed and quality of life afterwards. What a Prehab programme includes: - Cardiovascular conditioning: Building your aerobic fitness to give your heart and lungs the reserve capacity to handle treatment. - Resistance training: Strengthening muscles to offset the muscle wasting (cachexia) that cancer and its treatment can cause. - Breathing exercises: Particularly important before thoracic or abdominal surgery, where lung function is directly affected. - Psychological preparation: The structure and routine of a Prehab programme also helps manage the anxiety and sense of helplessness that many patients feel between diagnosis and treatment. Your Clinical Exercise Physiologist will work within the timeframe available, even 2 to 4 weeks of structured Prehab can make a measurable difference to your treatment outcomes.

Yes. Our Clinic Dashboard is designed for multi-disciplinary facilities. You can manage your team of Clinical Exercise Physiologists under a single clinic brand. Key Features for Clinics: Specialism Tagging: Assign specific clinical tags (e.g., Cardiac Rehab, Oncology, or GLP-1 Support) to individual practitioners. This ensures your clinic appears in highly specific Cancer searches in South West London. The Hand-off Workflow: Our dashboard makes it easy to transition a patient from an Acute Physio-led phase to a Chronic EP-led loading phase within your own facility. Unified Vetting: While practitioners are managed under your clinic, each individual must still undergo our manual AHCS/CASES verification to ensure platform-wide safety and quality.