Prehabilitation, or prehab for short, is the term used when patients undertake activities or lifestyle changes which improve their fitness to be able to manage more intensive cancer treatment options, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy.

Prehab aims to improve physical and mental health using a combination of exercise, nutrition and psychological interventions alongside behavioural change before any treatment begins and during treatment. Prehabilitation may allow people with cancer to access treatments that might not previously have been suitable for them.

Prehab supports and empowers people to improve their own physical and mental health and wellbeing and can bring positive impacts on long-term health.

This page introduces some prehab ideas you may wish to consider. The following short video provides a helpful overview of what prehab is all about.

There are a number of potential benefits from engaging in prehab:

• A shorter length of stay in hospital if surgery is required
• Fewer post-op complications
• Better recovery following treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy
• An opportunity to stop smoking and reduce alcohol intake. NHS Scotland guidelines recommend a maximum of 14 units intake of alcohol per week.
• Improves fitness, nutritional health and quality of life
• Personal empowerment – feel a sense of control and purpose, which in itself prepares you for surgery and improves your quality of life.
• Improved physical and emotional strength – an opportunity to improve physical function and emotional wellbeing, which offers resilience to the effects of surgery, enhances the quality of recovery and helps you to live life as fully as you can
• Long-term health goals – an opportunity to reflect on the role of healthy lifestyle practices after a potential cancer diagnosis, to promote positive health behaviour change.
• The benefits of prehab can be seen in as little as two weeks.

Prehab and Me is an excellent resource, developed by NHS Scotland, which features useful information to help support you in areas such as activity & exercise, diet & nutrition, mental wellbeing, and if relevant, alcohol and smoking.

The Maggie’s Centre in Forth Valley has a Prehabilitation Getting Ready for Treatment workshop that runs weekly and they also offer 1-1 support for prehabilitation.

Useful Resources