Evidence shows that exercise following a cancer diagnosis can increase survival rates and speed up recovery, as well as reduce side effects and treatment complications. At the same time, it can reduce the risk of cancer coming back, limiting the risk of dying from cancer for people who are active by as much as 44% compared to those who are less active and reducing the risk of cancer coming back by as much as 66%. Building on this valuable and encouraging evidence, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is collaborating with Yorkshire Cancer Research in the UK for the implementation of a fellowship program fostering international exchange of expertise on the benefits of exercise in cancer treatment. SNF, whose support to Yorkshire Cancer Research is part of our Global Health Initiative (GHI), also supports the extension of the related Active Together program at the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre in Harrogate.
Starting in September 2024, researchers and clinicians from Regeneration & Progress (R&P)—a Greek nonprofit that implements programs in the fields of health, sports and education with exclusive support from SNF—will travel to the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. There, they will receive a detailed briefing about Active Together, an exercise-based prehabilitation and rehabilitation service designed for Yorkshire Cancer Research by experts at AWRC and delivered in partnership with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. So far, more than 1,000 people with cancer have had the opportunity to take part in the Active Together program, which includes physical exercise as well as nutritional and psychological support.
Subsequently, at the start of 2025, fellows from the AWRC will travel to Athens, Greece, to join R&P’s Sports Excellence Lab team, which operates under the medical auspices of the University of Athens 1st Orthopedic Clinic, and gain hands-on experience with therapeutic exercise programs designed to meet the individual needs of each patient, as well as with high-performance assessments for elite athletes.
SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos said, “Cancer knows no borders, and the expertise that can help us fight it most effectively shouldn’t either. All of us at SNF are proud to support Yorkshire Cancer Research’s work harnessing the power of exercise to benefit patients. Under the umbrella of our Global Health Initiative (GHI), we aim to connect the dots between those striving for worldwide excellence. This great collaborative effort between Yorkshire Cancer Research and our close partners at Regeneration & Progress is exactly the sort of outcome that can help increase access to quality care.”
Dr. Stuart Griffiths, Director of Research, Services and Policy at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said, “This collaboration between two groups of world-leading researchers marks an important step in helping drive forward worldwide understanding of the benefits of exercise on cancer treatment. We’re grateful to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) for helping to facilitate this exciting new exchange program which will help save lives in Yorkshire and beyond.”
Dr. Panagiotis Koulouvaris, Associate Professor of Orthopedics at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens and President of Regeneration & Progress, said, “We’re excited to work with the Sheffield Hallam University team and learn more about the prehabilitation and rehabilitation initiatives that the Active Together program offers. Much like the ethos of the Active Together, promoting active, healthy lifestyles for as many people as possible is at the heart of what we do.”