Get Active Feel Good in Shropshire

A new partnership between Macmillan and Shropshire PCT will be encouraging people with cancer to take up more exercise as part of their recovery.

Get Active, Feel Good will enable people with cancer being treated at Shropshire and Telford Hospitals to receive personalised support and advice in getting more active.  

The project was inspired by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Move More report, which showed just how important physical activity is to the recovery and long term health of cancer patients. For example, breast cancer patients’ risk of recurrence and of dying from the disease can be reduced by up 40% by doing recommended levels of physical activity and bowel cancer patients’ risk of recurrence and of dying from the disease can be reduced by around 50% by doing significant amounts of physical activity.  

The Get Active, Feel Good Adviser will work with nurses and therapists at the hospitals to help them identify patients who will benefit from increased physical activity. The adviser will support the patient to plan how they will incorporate more activity into their lives, in a way that best suits them. This might be just being more active in daily living, or it might involve attending a specific exercise class or programmed activity. 

Miranda Ashwell, Physical Activity Programme Lead at Shropshire Public Health, who will manage the project, said: 'We are very pleased that Macmillan Cancer Support has provided the funding for this new project. Physical activity plays an enormous role in helping people to maintain their health and improve their quality of life and this is no different for cancer patients.'

Tudor Humphreys, Macmillan Development Manager, said: 'Traditionally cancer patients were told to rest up after their cancer treatment and to take it easy, but Macmillan’s Move More research shows that this approach is outdated. Get Active, Feel Good, is a great response to this research and I know that it will improve the lives of many people in Shropshire who are living with cancer.'

The Get Active, Feel Good Adviser will be receiving referrals from nurses and therapists at Shropshire and Telford Hospitals so if you are receiving treatment there and are would like to know more, please ask your clinical nurse specialist for advice.