Cancer Research

Why This Project Matters

“We realise how important exercise and well-being is for patients undergoing cancer treatment, not only in terms of coping with the impact of the disease and the side-effects of treatments but also potentially improving response rates and outcomes.”
Professor Mark Beresford, Consultant Oncologist, Dyson Cancer Centre, Royal
United Hospital Bath.Visiting Chair, University of Bath.

Cancer prehabilitation—the practice of preparing patients physically and mentally before starting cancer treatment, has already demonstrated improvements in treatment tolerance, reduced complications, and enhanced quality of life. What makes this project exceptional is its focus on a novel benefit of exercise: its potential anti-tumour effects through the enhancement of immune function.

By building muscle via resistance training, patients may experience better immune responses, leading to:

• Fewer infections and complications.
• Improved treatment effectiveness.
• Shorter hospital stays and faster recovery times.

This approach represents a significant step forward in patient-centred cancer care and has the potential to change national prehabilitation practices.

What we want to know

Does exercise help the body fight cancer? Can we harness the effect of exercise to give cancer patients a stronger chance of recovery?

• To test whether resistance exercise improves immune function in cancer patients.
• To assess if this immune enhancement leads to better cancer treatment outcomes.
• To expand access to prehabilitation for currently excluded patients.
• To generate scalable, evidence-based exercise protocols for broader NHS implementation.

How It Will Work

A three-year PhD-led research study will be conducted by a collaborative team from the RUH and University of Bath, including experts from Oncology, Physiotherapy, and Exercise Immunology. The study will:

• Recruit patients currently excluded from the RUH prehabilitation service
• Deliver a supervised resistance exercise program at the University of Bath’s Sports Training Village at the University of Bath, which is a cutting-edge sports facility that is home to many Olympians.
• Monitor changes in immune cell composition, body composition, fitness, and mental well-being.
• Evaluate post-treatment recovery, infection rates, and cancer treatment responses.

Patient Impact

Imagine a patient who has just been diagnosed with prostate or gynaecological cancer. They’re overwhelmed, anxious, and worried about what lies ahead.

Instead of facing treatment unprepared, they’re invited to take part in a program that strengthens their body, lifts their confidence, and may even help their treatment work better.

Now imagine that same patient recovering faster, avoiding complications, and returning to their life and loved ones with renewed strength. This is the impact your donation could have.

This project will directly benefit NHS cancer patients at the RUH by:

• Enhancing treatment readiness and recovery
• Reducing risk of complications and infections
• Offering equitable access to prehabilitation services
• Establishing RUH as a national leader in evidence-based cancer care

The findings could shape future policy, expanding advanced prehabilitation to additional cancer types and hospitals across the UK.