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Cancer prehabilitation is the process of improving your physical and emotional health before cancer treatment begins. Just as athletes train for a major event, prehabilitation helps you to prepare your body and mind for your upcoming treatment.

We understand that a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming, and treatment can feel daunting, but the research has shown us that people who engage in prehabilitation often experience

  • Better physical fitness
  • Faster recovery from surgery
  • Shorter hospital stays
  • Better emotional wellbeing

Cancer treatment can sometimes feel like a series of things that are happening to you. Prehabilitation gives you an opportunity to take an active role in your care and focus on things you can do to enhance your overall wellbeing before you start treatment.

There are different resources available for you outlined below, depending upon what type of cancer treatment you are about to have.

  • SACT (Systemic anti-cancer therapy)
  • Surgery
  • Stem cell transplant
  • Treatment that may impact on your abdominal or pelvic areas

In general, components of prehabilitation include:

Physical activity

  • Increase your activity levels: this will help you to eat better, sleep better and improve your general wellbeing. In addition, this will ensure your heart and lungs are fitter for anaesthesia and surgery and SACT.
  • Start with sitting less and moving more. For example, try to regularly stand up during the day and add small activities into your daily routine.
  • This booklet, Being active before surgery or cancer treatment, will guide you through a range of different activities to help you become more physically active before treatment. our webpage on Physical Activity will provide further information.
  • The Cancer Care Map and Macmillan’s In Your Area are both examples of online directories that aim to link people to sources of support for self-management and peer support. You can use these directories to help you to find cancer physical activity services near you.  The South East Cancer Alliance have developed physical activity and cancer resources, they are available on their website  Physical Activity & Exercise :: South East London Cancer Alliance This information includes an online module Being active on your treatment plan – Being active when you’re living with cancer to advise you on what activity is recommended according to the treatment you are having. This is a helpful place to start to guide you on the level of activity to do. 

Healthy eating

  • Improve your diet: Eating a varied diet, rich in fruit and vegetables means you will have all the nutrients you need to heal after your surgery. Aim for a normal body weight.
  • Watch our 10 minute video from the Get Set 4 Surgery team on improving your diet before surgery

     

Emotional and psychological wellbeing

A cancer diagnosis can bring a wide range of emotions, including worry, uncertainty, sadness, anger, or feeling overwhelmed. Looking after your emotional wellbeing is an important part of prehabilitation and can help you feel more prepared for treatment.

Taking time to understand your treatment plan, talking openly with family, friends, or healthcare professionals, and accessing support services can help you manage stress and build confidence. Simple strategies such as staying connected with others, keeping active where possible, practising relaxation techniques, and maintaining activities you enjoy can also support emotional resilience.

Remember that there is no right or wrong way to feel. If emotions begin to affect your daily life, sleep, or ability to cope, speak to your healthcare team, who can help you access appropriate psychological or emotional support. Emotional wellbeing is an important part of preparing your mind and body for cancer treatment.

Please see our Emotional and psychological wellbeing pages for more information and resources to support you.

Healthy lifestyle changes

  • Cut down or stop drinking alcohol: Drinking more than 4 units per day (equivalent to 2 pints of beer or large glasses of wine) doubles your risk of complications after surgery.  Cutting down on alcohol will improve the health of your liver, which is vital for healing after surgery. For more information see our Alcohol and cancer page.
  • Smoking: this will dramatically reduce your risk of chest infection and other complications. The hospital ‘stop smoking’ service can help you, click here for more details. For more information see our Smoking and cancer page.

Every positive change can make a difference.

 

Preparing for SACT (systemic anti cancer therapy)

We have created a series of films to help you prepare for your treatment. The IMPACT (I’M Prepared for Anti-Cancer Treatment) video collection was designed by experts and patients at St George’s University Hospital to help you prepare for starting treatment.

Preparing ahead of starting treatment

Having treatment

Looking after yourself during treatment – diet

Looking after yourself during treatment – being physically active

Looking after yourself during treatment – emotional wellbeing

Preparing for cancer surgery

To help you prepare for surgery, we have a programme called Get Set 4 Surgery. 

We have developed resources to help you make the most of the time you are waiting for your surgery.  You can use this time to improve your health and wellbeing, so your surgical recovery is better- think of it as preparation time rather than waiting time.

Watch our video introducing the Get Set 4 Surgery session, with advice on prehabilitation- taking simple steps before surgery to improve your recovery:

 

 

We provide weekly sessions to deliver this information live online, via Microsoft Teams, or face-to-face.  Please speak to your clinical team to be invited to one of our sessions, or email us: surgeryschool@stgeorges.nhs.uk

Our Guide to Surgery Booklet accompanies the session and explains your care before, during, and after your surgery and also answers many common questions. This booklet was praised by the Royal College of Anaesthetists as an example of best practice.

It explains your care before, during, and after your surgery  and answers many common questions. This booklet was praised by the Royal College of Anaesthetists as an example of best practice:

These short films will help to familiarise you with the hospital and surgical process.

Something is better than nothing.  Every change you make today has the potential to improve your recovery after surgery.

  1. Your pre-operative care

2. Your day of surgery

3. Your post-operative care

 

Preparing for stem cell transplant or CAR-T

We provide a welcoming session for you and your loved ones to meet the stem cell transplant and CAR-T team and hear our advice and guidance to help you prepare for your admission, meet other people awaiting a stem cell transplant or CAR-T and hear from a patient who has been through the process. We also provide information about helpful things you can do at home to prepare for your admission to help you prepare physically and emotionally. We provide a booklet to accompany the seminar, which provides additional information to help you understand the practical aspects of this process.

Please ask your nurse specialist for more information about this seminar.

We have developed a series of films with our patients to help you to prepare for your hospital admission for your stem cell transplant/CAR-T. These films share the experiences and ‘top tips’ from our patients.

SPARC Prehabilitation – Supporting pelvic and abdominal cancer concerns

We have developed a webinar to help you to prepare for any cancer treatments that might affect your pelvic or abdominal areas. This recorded session provides information on bladder and bowel changes and teaches you how to do pelvic floor exercises so you can get started with this training before your treatment.