How does keeping active help cancer sufferers?

PhD student Oliver Thurlow has been sponsored by the 4 Cancer Group charity and will interview cancer patients and their families about their experiences to enhance understanding of how active respite breaks can help.

He said: “Activities such as cycling, sailing, trekking or skiing trips create memories and help people escape the emotional trauma that cancer invariably brings.

“Research has illuminated overwhelmingly positive experiences of moderate active interventions during or after treatment. The outcomes have provided insights into patients’ experiences, with several existing studies highlighting increased independence, feelings of heightened self-esteem, and a new sense of hope.”

“Our new research is the next step that is essential to advancing the knowledge of cancer patients’ experiences of active respite as opposed to a structured intervention. The research has the potential to form an original, innovative direction for future regional and national approaches for the treatment of cancer.”

Oliver Thurlow

Photo by Leon Christopher on Unsplash

The 4 Cancer Group was started in 2001 by a group of keen sports enthusiasts who had all lost a close friend or relative to cancer. The Group now comprises various sporting subsidiaries including Sail 4 Cancer, Run 4 Cancer, Bike 4 Cancer the Neil Vines Trust, From Me to You and Ski 4 Cancer.

Graham Precey, Chairman of the charity, said: “It is important to us that we offer respite opportunities that will bring the most benefit to the families we help. Our partnership with the University of Brighton is a fantastic way to ensure that we do this. Our current mission is to provide 100 years’ worth of respite to families affected by cancer by 2025. In our first 15 years we have delivered 50 years so are working hard to have double the impact in half the time!

“We are very excited to welcome Oliver to the team and we are all looking forward to the exciting opportunities that working with Oliver and the University of Brighton will bring. Oliver’s research skills will help us understand the impact our respite activities have upon a family going through cancer. In addition, his research will, in the future, help us to design the respite opportunities that we offer. This will ensure that we can continue to really make a difference to the families who need our help.”

Professor Kate Galvin, the university’s Professor of Nursing Practice, said: “This is an important research collaboration with 4 Cancer Group as we actively seek who can help us ensure our health research has potential to make a difference to people's lives, and this is an exciting opportunity to examine well-being from a new perspective.”