Pancreatic Cancer: NI Patients Test New Exercise Program

Patients with pancreatic cancer in Northern Ireland will be the first in the UK to experiment with a new exercise program designed to facilitate postoperative recovery.

It comes after Queen's University of Belfast received a grant of over £ 100,000 from Pancreatic Cancer UK.

The researchers will work with operated patients to design tailored exercise programs.

If successful, it is hoped that the project will be rolled out across the UK.

Of the 20 most common cancers, pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rates.

The only cure for this disease is a 12-hour operation, which often involves removing all or part of the pancreas and modifying the digestive system.

There can often be side effects such as pain, fatigue and anxiety.

Researchers hope to find physical exercise techniques over the next two years that will reduce symptoms.

Some exercises have been beneficial for patients with bad or prostate cancer.

As a result of the surgery, participants in this program will have resistance and aerobic exercise at their own pace, along with chemotherapy.

Gillian Prue, a lecturer at Queens University, told BBC News NI that she thought that exercise would contribute to the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer.

"The patients are undergoing major surgery, they have difficult chemotherapy, their function is not excellent, and we help them by getting them into a gym," she said.

"We will work with them to develop their own exercise program and we hope to reduce and stop their decline and that they will be able to better tolerate chemotherapy."

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Tom Hawthorne, 61, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August 2017 and said that cycling helped him overcome the side effects of surgery.

"It was said that the operation would be quite difficult, but at this point I did not really understand what it meant," he said.

"For me, the operation was totally devastating – it was really difficult, physically and psychologically."

Mr Hawthorne said the battle was tough, but that he finally found his bike, "that had a huge impact" on his recovery.

"It's not everyone who can do it, but it's worth doing your best and you'll feel the benefit," he added.

Dr. Chris MacDonald, Research Manager at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said that pancreatic cancer research has been "underfunded for decades".

"The potential positive impact of this project conceived by the Queen's University Belfast team is extremely exciting and I am delighted that it is about our first funded research in Ireland. North, "he said.