Healthy Habits - 6. Prehabilitation
- livewellwithcancer
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
2026 began beautifully when we learned that we had successfully applied for two grants from Northern Cancer Alliance, totalling £10,370, to host weekly exercise classes, monthly prehabilitation workshops and two Live Well with Healthy Habits Masterclasses.
Keep reading to learn more about prehabilitation and our plans for the year ahead.
The Prehab Hub
During my late 20s, I slipped a disc in my back, resulting in months of pain and rehabilitation. As time went on, I found that my recovery was invariably linked to how well I was keeping on top of my rehab routines, primarily stretching and icing.
This was when I first began to think about prehabbing an injury – the idea of recovering before the injury impacted my life. The realisation motivated me to maintain my healthy habits, even when my back was feeling better, so that I wouldn’t go through pain, poor mobility and sciatica again.
My back issues were more or less under control when I had a meeting with Northern Cancer Alliance to discuss prehabilitation, a healthcare process that empowers patients to improve their psychological, emotional and physical health before, during and after treatment.
In partnership with North East & North Cumbria ICB, Northern Cancer Alliance were looking to create a website to promote prehab and help healthcare professionals support their patients.
After months of development with subject matter experts from across the region, we were proud to release The Prehab Hub, an online resource developed by clinicians to help healthcare professionals prepare their patients for treatment.
The site focuses on the eight key factors to consider when supporting patients.
The Prehab Edition
While building The Prehab Hub, I was struck by how much the key factors of prehabilitation matched up with The Wellbeing 9-a-Day, the wellness journal I had been developing and using daily to build a healthier lifestyle since 2021.
The idea began to bear fruit when we received further funding from Northern Cancer Alliance to support our prehabilitation project in the Live Well Hub, run in partnership with Beth and the Prehab team at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
As well as funding weekly exercise classes and monthly prehabilitation workshops, the grant empowered us to produce Live Well with Healthy Habits: The Prehab Edition, a practical wellness journal that empowers newly diagnosed patients to improve their health and wellbeing before and during treatment.
Shortly after finishing a test print of The Prehab Edition, I rather foolishly dropped a wardrobe on my foot, while wearing open-toe sandals. The result was a crushed big toe, complete with broken bone, sizeable wound and obliterated toenail.
When it happened, my toe looked so bad that my mam and I seriously contemplated the idea that I might lose it, and yet I recovered much quicker than expected, including a return to our Kickaround with the Lads football sessions within two weeks of the accident.
In hindsight, the habits I’d been building with the journal had helped prepare me for the recovery. Without knowing it, I had been prehabbing for the injury before I knew that it would happen.
I did some of my recovery before the injury, or precovered, if you will.
Why not purchase our Live Well with Healthy Habits Prehab journal?
Packed with all the tips you need!
The Prehab Masterclasses
Having seen the benefits of prehabilitation in my personal and professional life, I’m excited to put Northern Cancer Alliance’s funding to good use with our upcoming prehabilitation workshops and Live Well with Healthy Habits Masterclasses.
Our twelve monthly prehabilitation workshops will focus on The Wellbeing 9-a-Day and the nine habits of a healthy lifestyle.
Every attendee will receive a copy of The Prehab Edition so that they can use what they learn during the session to build habits that can improve their health and wellbeing.
We’re currently arranging sessions with the eight Prehab Leads in the region so that we can host workshops throughout the North East and reach as many people as possible. Stay tuned for updates – we will be releasing dates as and when they are confirmed.
In addition to our monthly sessions, we were delighted to receive funding to host two Live Well with Healthy Habits Masterclasses from the Live Well Hub in North Shields.
Open to patients and professionals, our masterclasses will be held from 10am to 2pm on Thursday 23rd April and Saturday 6th June.
The sessions will introduce attendees to The Wellbeing 9-a-Day, with practical sessions on each of the nine habits, including mindful activities, gentle exercise and nutritious refreshments.
If you would like to register your interest in one of our sessions, or would like to know more about our Prehabilitation project, please email us at transformation@livewellwithcancer.co.uk.
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