Multimodal prehabilitation for older patients before major cancer surgery
A few weeks of exercise, nutrition and mental preparation before a big operation helps older patients recover faster and with fewer complications. It costs little and should be routine.
Prehabilitation programmes combining exercise, nutritional optimisation, and psychological support before surgery have shown reductions in complications and length of stay in colorectal and other cancer surgery, including in randomised trials, with the largest effects in frail and older patients. The waiting time before surgery is usually long enough. Making prehabilitation a standard offer for patients over 70 scheduled for major cancer surgery would apply existing evidence.
- Older and multimorbid patients are excluded and undertreated · Most people with cancer are over 65 but most trial patients are younger and fitter. We guess how to treat the majority.
- Surgery and radiotherapy cure most, get least · Surgery and radiotherapy cure more people than drugs do, but attract a fraction of the research investment.
Pages like this
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- InstitutionOlivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre
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