ABSTRACT
Through a combination of earlier detection and enhanced treatments, the chance of surviving cancer is significantly improving. As a result, the number of cancer survivors in the United Kingdom is growing by 3% per annum. By 2040, it is forecast that there will be more than 3 million people living with the consequences of cancer and its therapies. 1 In men, 43% of these will have prostate cancer and in women 41% will have breast cancer and, as a consequence of an aging population, over a quarter of people over 65 years will be cancer survivors. 2–4 The increase in the number of survivors is attributed not only to better multidisciplinary management but an aging population and more effective systemic therapies which keep patients alive longer with metastatic disease. To achieve these benefits patients often have to endure complex and arduous therapies, frequently leaving them beleaguered with acute and long-term physical and psychological adverse effects. 5 In addition to being unpleasant, these adverse effects result in greater usage of health resources and financial implications for patients and their families. This chapter reviews the evidence that lifestyle and self-help strategies can help diminish many of the adverse effects of treatments, maximize the probability of long-term control and in some cases improve overall survival.
