Being physically active before and during cancer treatment can help your body and mind prepare for what’s ahead. Even small increases in activity can make a difference.
Benefits of physical activity
- Improves fitness and strength so your body is better prepared for treatment.
- Helps reduce treatment complications and supports a smoother recovery.
- Maintains muscle strength and independence during and after treatment.
- Reduces cancer-related fatigue and can help boost energy levels.
- Supports mental wellbeing by reducing stress, anxiety, and low mood.
- Improves recovery after treatment, helping you return to daily activities sooner.
- Enhances overall quality of life, including sleep, mobility, and confidence.
- Helps build resilience, making it easier to cope with the physical and emotional demands of treatment.
The below videos helps to explain the important benefits of exercising throughout a cancer diagnosis, and how to support improving fitness prior to treatment.
Exercise and cancer – the benefits video
Improving fitness prior to treatment video
What is the difference between physical activity and exercise?
Physical activity is any movement that uses energy. It’s often things we do all the time without even realising they count as forms of physical activity, such as walking, climbing the stairs, gardening, cleaning the house etc.
These activities can improve your fitness, strength and balance.
Exercise is a planned, structured, and repetitive activity to improve or maintain physical fitness such as running, cycling, seated exercise classes, swimming, pilates or yoga, fitness classes, resistance training etc.
How much physical activity should I be aiming for?
The recommendations advise:
- 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic physical activity. This is any activity that makes you feel your heart beat a bit faster, you feel slightly out of breath, you can still speak in sentences but not sing a song. Alternatively you can do more vigorous aerobic activity for 75 minutes a week.
- Strengthening activities to work all the major muscle groups on at least two days a week
- Balance – if you are over 65 years old or have issues affecting you balance, you should aim to do balance exercises twice a week.
The video below explains more regarding physical activity recommendations, with examples of both moderate and vigorous exercises.
Exercise cautions video
The video below discusses some cautions and recommendations to support people with cancer to be more physically active.
More information can be found on the Macmillan webpage, which gives tips and advice for exercising safely, if you are having treatment and if you are having side effects or have other medical conditions.
What can OPTIMISE offer to help support physical activity?
OPTIMISE Cancer Prehabilitation has a wide range of offerings that can help to support your physical activity levels. Some of these are by referral only and include:
Versus Cancer with Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation
(Cancer Prehab and Rehab sessions) 1pm to 3pm Mondays at Riverside Stadium, and 1pm to 3pm Fridays at Southlands Centre.
These sessions include one hour physical activity, and then one hour peer support with a cup of tea and a chat.
Livewell Centre
Albert Road, Middlesbrough. Supervised supported cancer prehab gym sessions 10.30am to 11.30am Mondays and 1.30pm to 2.30pm Thursdays.
Active North Yorkshire
An initial assessment takes place Thursdays at Northallerton or Richmond Leisure Centre, and then you can use facilities at Active North Yorkshire venues (Northallerton, Thirsk, Richmond, Stokesley and Bedale) for 12 weeks, with a final assessment on Week 12 at Northallerton or Richmond.
Active North Yorkshire are able to offer both Prehab and Rehab memberships. Prehab memberships are free for 12 weeks, and Rehab is at a heavily discounted price.
This also includes a specific cancer prehab/rehab weekly peer support session, which includes a 45 minute circuit style session, and then a cup of tea and a chat after.
The cancer prehab/rehab circuit classes can also be attended as pay-as-you-go.
Cancer Prehabilitation virtual exercise classes
Hosted by Healthworks. These run Monday to Thursday 4pm to 5pm via Zoom.
Specialist classes in Middlesbrough and Redcar supported by a physiotherapist, the OPTIMISE team will contact you via phone regarding these classes if required.
The above sessions are via referral only. If you would like to attend, please contact your healthcare team for a referral.
There are also lots of other options for exercising within your local area or at home. Please select the drop down menus to see more.
OPTIMISE Cancer Prehabilitation Home Exercise Plan
The OPTIMISE Cancer Prehabilitation exercise programme contains sets of exercises to target different muscle groups. Some exercises are harder than others and you are not expected to complete all the exercises in this booklet.
Practical ways to be more active
The Living An Active Life guide from the World Cancer Research Fund is for anyone wanting to get more active in their daily lives. This guide is packed full of practical tips and advice to help you move more and fit more activity into your day. Examples include:
Break up long periods of sitting down – move during TV advert breaks, stand up or move around during phonecalls and try move every hour if working at a desk
Make activity part of your day – take the stairs instead of the lift, park further away at the supermarket, walk to a further bus stop or try walking short distances instead of driving
Make exercise part of your day – choose a familiar exercise, start slowly with an amount that is achievable and build up over time (for example, try a 10 minute walk at an easy pace and then increase over time, for example to 15 minutes at an easy pace or 10 minutes brisk pace)