Cancer clinicians take on 140-mile charity bike ride

Cancer clinicians from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals are set to cycle more than 140 miles across Lancashire and Cumbria to raise funds for charity and promote a programme helping patients prepare for treatment.

About 20 members of staff are due to set off on 16 September, visiting eight football clubs whose community organisations offer free support to cancer patients.

Prehabilitation, or prehab, helps people prepare for cancer treatment through exercise, nutrition and mental wellbeing support. The programme is delivered at Preston and Chorley hospitals, as well as football club community facilities and leisure centres across Lancashire and South Cumbria, giving patients support closer to home.

The two-day challenge will see the riders travel from Barrow in the north to Burnley in the east.

Consultant upper gastrointestinal and general surgeon Jeremy Ward said the challenge was designed to shine a light on a service that can have a significant impact on patients' treatment and recovery.

"The challenge is a 140-mile cycle ride between the eight football clubs in the region which provide gym facilities for cancer patients taking part in prehabilitation," he said.

"I've been training and carrying out a few reconnaissance rides over the past two to three months."

Ward described prehabilitation as an important part of cancer care.

He said: "Prehab is crucially important in helping patients along their cancer journey.

"It focuses on exercise and physical fitness, nutrition and psychological wellbeing. The football clubs provide exercise classes and a social meeting point for patients during what is a very stressful period of their lives."

Patients who take part often experience reduced fatigue, improved mobility and are better able to cope with treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery, he said.

"It can reduce complications, shorten hospital stays and lower readmission rates.

"The feedback we receive is extremely encouraging. Patients tell us that meeting others in similar situations is a huge benefit during what can be a frightening and difficult time."

He said the network of football club facilities was particularly valuable in a region where many patients live some distance from major hospitals.

"To be able to go to local football clubs around the region is extremely helpful. They otherwise would not have access to this kind of facility."

The ride is also raising funds for the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, which supports cancer services across Lancashire and South Cumbria.

"Rosemere is incredibly important.

"It raises money to improve services for patients, whether that is improving facilities or helping provide important equipment. The work it does is hugely valuable and we are very grateful for its support."

Dan Hill, head of hospital charities at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said the fundraising effort demonstrated the commitment of staff beyond their day-to-day roles.

"It is fantastic that our colleagues are taking on this challenge.

"We have provided funding to support many of the clinical teams over the years, and for them to give something back and raise awareness makes a real difference for local patients."

"All the money raised by Rosemere goes towards making sure local patients have access to the best possible treatment in the best possible environment.

"The equipment we fund can cost anything from hundreds of pounds to more than £1 million, so every penny raised helps us enhance services and improve outcomes for patients."

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