“Just do it” - a familiar sports brand slogan, may have relevance to the fitter members of the general public but for those recovering from the battering of cancer and its therapies a more realistic motto should be – “How to do it?”

Many, when contemplating exercise, see it as an insurmountable hurdle and regress into the immediate comfort of burying their head in the sand. Those patients, however, who recognise this barrier and are able to swallow their pride and ask for help are much more likely to succeed. With help, patients can relearn their exercise patterns often with a broader range of activities, they may not have previously contemplated. Hopefully the exercise section of this website will provide some ideas and advice which may be helpful but certainly at an early stage of recovery do not be afraid to ask for help from sensible source available around you such as hospital physiotherapist, friends, relatives or personal trainers. Although individual patient motivation remains the strongest determinant of the intensity of exercise friends, relatives and physicians play fundamental roles in promoting exercise.

One study, for example, found that patients who were encouraged by their oncologist exercised significantly more than patients who were not given the advice. Although in an ideal world, motivation should be initiated from the doctors themselves, often within busy clinics lifestyle issues are overlooked. If prompted however by you or a relative, suitable encouragement should be forthcoming!

Further general information Your doctors and specialist nurses are in an ideal position to give you relevant information on your disease and treatment as they know your individual circumstances. Cancerbackup has a help line (0808 800 1234) and a prize winning video available in English, Italian, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati & Hindi explaining Radiotherapy & Chemotherapy. Cancernet.co.uk has over 500 pages describing cancer, its management, practical tips and tool which patients, their carers and their doctors have found helpful during the cancer journey.