New research and education exchange programme will advance global understanding of benefits of exercise on cancer treatment

A new fellowship exchange programme led by Yorkshire Cancer Research will advance global understanding of the benefits of exercise on cancer treatment, thanks to support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) through its Global Health Initiative (GHI).

Starting in September 2024, researchers from Greece-based non-profit Regeneration & Progress (R&P) will spend time at Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) and learn about Active Together, a pioneering programme designed to help people with cancer prepare for and recover from treatment.

Active Together is a prehabilitation and rehabilitation service offering exercise, nutrition and wellbeing support to people following a cancer diagnosis. It was designed for Yorkshire Cancer Research by experts at AWRC and has been delivered in partnership with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since its launch in February 2022.

When combined with participants at the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre in Harrogate, more than 1,000 people with cancer have been offered the chance to take part in the Active Together programme.

Fellows from the AWRC will also travel to Athens, Greece, in 2025, to exchange knowledge and expertise. They will join R&P’s Sports Excellence Lab team, operating under the medical auspices of the University of Athens 1st Orthopedic Clinic and gain hands-on experience of therapeutic exercise programmes designed to meet the individual needs of each patient, as well as of high-performance assessments for elite athletes.

Evidence shows that exercise following a cancer diagnosis can increase survival rates and speed up recovery as well as reduce side effects, complications and the risk of cancer coming back, reducing the risk of dying from cancer by as much as 44% compared to those who are less active and reducing the risk of cancer coming back by as much as 66%.

New evidence is being gathered through Active Together, aiding detailed understanding of how and why exercise as a form of cancer treatment can help save lives.

The fellowship exchange programme is funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), a grant-making organisation that supports nonprofits around the world. As part of its Global Health Initiative (GHI), SNF made a £835,000 grant to fund the expansion of the Active Together programme at the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre in Harrogate as well as the new fellowship exchange programme.

Regeneration & Progress was established and operates with exclusive support from SNF. Dr. Panagiotis Koulouvaris, Associate Professor of Orthopaedics at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens and President of Regeneration & Progress, said:

“We’re excited to work with the Sheffield Hallam University team and learn more about the prehabilitation and rehabilitation initiatives that the Active Together programme offers. Much like the ethos of the Active Together, promoting active, healthy lifestyles for as many people as possible is at the heart of what we do.”

Professor Rob Copeland, Director of the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, said:

“The fellowship exchange programme offers an important opportunity to learn from international colleagues to advance understanding of the significant benefits of exercise and its role as part of cancer treatment. We look forward to working with Regeneration & Progress to share knowledge and expertise that will help us achieve our goal to improve patients’ long-term health outcomes in Yorkshire and beyond.”

Those patients include Neil Garner, who was diagnosed with Stage 2 bowel cancer in May 2022 and referred to the Active Together service at Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, where the team created a personalised programme for him.

Neil said: “Thanks to the incredible support I received through the Active Together programme, I lost two stone in just eight weeks and significantly improved my fitness, enabling me to undergo the operation to remove my cancer. In addition to helping me reach my fitness goals, Active Together helped alleviate the brain fog and low mood I was experiencing after my chemotherapy treatment.

In addition to leading the international exchange program, Yorkshire Cancer Research is expanding the Active Together programme across the region and recently started accepting patients in Barnsley, Rotherham, and Doncaster. The charity aims to open at least three more exercise centres in Yorkshire over the next 10 years.