Active Together: Sheffield Cancer Support Service to be expanded

A “groundbreaking” cancer support service which has helped more than 1,000 people in Sheffield is to be launched in South and West Yorkshire.

Active Together offers personalized exercise, nutrition and wellness support to help people with cancer at different stages of their treatment.

The free service said it aims to save lives by increasing treatment options, reducing side effects, speeding recovery and improving long-term health outcomes.

It will now be extended to hospitals in Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster after a £4m funding boost from charity Yorkshire Cancer Research.

A further £1.9m will be spent on delivering the service in community leisure centers in Wakefield, Pontefract and Huddersfield.

Patient Angela Jameel, who signed up after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, said: “I was intrigued and really excited to go.

“We talked about my diagnosis, how I was feeling, my lifestyle and my family, and discussed how I could fit in certain activities and exercise.”

The service is designed and delivered by Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Center (AWRC) in partnership with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Ms Jameel continued: “I loved the whole approach from my training to my rehabilitation – It helped me recover from my surgery and I continued with her through chemotherapy.

“I have massive support at home from my family, but this structured approach with exercises and information has been very helpful.”

Yorkshire Cancer Research recently started running exercise sessions for cancer patients at its new center in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

The charity hopes the NHS will eventually replicate the service across the country.

Dr Liam Humphries, research fellow at the AWRC, said: “Aerobic training can help with the side effects of treatment such as reducing fatigue, it helps people’s long-term recovery, but it also helps people’s mental wellbeing.

“When someone is diagnosed with cancer it’s a really stressful time, so the service also offers psychological support – it could just be talking to people in the group or accessing clinical support.”