HEALTH

Cancer patients were always told to rest up and avoid exercise, but new research shows physical activity can help treatment and evenreduce the risk of recurrence. Meet the pioneers changing the face of cancer care

by PATSY WESTCOTT

illustration ANDREW LYONS

Chris Cottrell is not someone to take cancer sitting down. When his prostate cancer returned in 2013, three years after the original diagnosis, he and his doctors decided on a 'watch and wait' approach. Meanwhile, one doctor suggested he get fit. That was how Cottrell, 66, found himself standing on the doorstep of a gym in London's Harley Street, home to clinical exercise physiologist Emily Curtis.

'I'd never set foot in a gym in my life and nearly gave up, but my wife persuaded me to stick with it,' says Cottrell, a retired businessman from Sussex. Tm glad I did because it changed my life. Instead of my PSA [a blood marker for prostate cancer] accelerating it began to slow down.' He subsequently sailed through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy.

'Although my cancer has progressed, my PSA is currently undetectable and I feel amazing. I view it as an important component of my treatment.' He was so taken with the difference exercise had made, he and Curtis set up a private online gym, The Exercise Clinic, for people with cancer. They approached London's Royal Marsden Hospital with the idea for a pilot study to test a free online programme (THRIVE) and its effects on energy levels, mental wellbeing and treatment side effects in men with prostate cancer. 'The average age of participants is around 70 and they love it,' says Curtis. 'Doing it online removes a lot of barriers to exercising. There's growing evidence that exercise can help men with prostate cancer. One study found that walking briskly for three hours a week or more reduced the risk of dying of the disease by more than 60%.' Men who exercised vigorously in the THRIVE study had the lowest risk.