Graham was shocked when he was given 2-4 years left to live in 2017. 7 years on & still going strong. From Cancer Diagnosis to Resilience: How Exercise helped Graham live, thrive & survive!

Over the last 2 decades I have worked with many individual clients from cancer diagnosis through chemo, drug treatments & radiotherapy. I met Graham just after this 70th birthday.

I would travel to his home at the beginning. We did our sessions in a room next to the garden & often lay & watched the birds, trees & flowers as the seasons changed. Patience, peace, conversation & a little laughter in amongst exercises. I was with a very poorly man who had the will to be well. I know the positive benefits of how being physically strong & moving with purpose can have on your mind, body, brain & emotional health. To read the science backed up with evidence of a long term study published in June 2025 gives real tangible hope. There is so much that can be practically done to help potentially prevent cancer & aid full recovery. This is Graham's story in his own words.

What Future?- A massive shock to the system

I was diagnosed with advance prostate cancer in 2017 at the age of 70.  I remember only too well the feeling that life as you had known it was at an end and as for the future – what future?! 

I was given the diagnosis by a locum doctor, whom I had never seen and whom I have never subsequently seen. 

He pronounced that I had between 2 and 4 years to live, another massive shock to the system. 

Fear Of The Unknown- Could this be the end of doing what I loved?

The only good bit of news was that I was assigned a nurse who referred me to the top consultant at Rosemere Clinic at PRI. 

I recall that at my first appointment at which I signed up for a course of chemo, I asked a question about exercise. 

At the time I was playing county tennis for Cumbria, was a keen walker and had just finished my second round of the 214 Wainwright fells the year before and also enjoyed swimming.  I feared it might be the end for these.

I Contacted Tracy For a Personal Programme

My consultant said keep doing your exercise, and more if you can. 

It was a light bulb moment. Perhaps all was not lost.... My wife new Tracy so

I contacted her to see if she could put together a specific programme for me of Yoga Stretches, Strength and Pilates, none of which I had done before. 

At first, we worked one to one. Eventually I was able to do the sessions on my own. 

I did attend Tracy's classes in Kendal and the online sessions every week throughout lockdown. 

A Sense Of Purpose

From nothing, what Tracy has given me is a template for exercises, which I continue to do to this day, 7 years on. 

I do this for 6 mornings a week and I find this structure gives my day a sense of purpose and is both physically and mentally rewarding.

Although my tennis days have been curtailed, due to unrelated knee problems.

I have taken up crown green bowling. Less physically exhausting but a mental challenge nevertheless.

The Question- Has continuous exercise helped in my battle with cancer? 

I believe it has. Structured exercise has given me a positive focus and a sense of perspective beyond the cancer. 

It has certainly helped me to tolerate the various drug regimes of chemo, hormone therapy and radiotherapy, with minimal side effects that other patients often seem to suffer.

It is most interesting, but no surprise to me, that recent research is indicting that a structured exercise regime can reduce the risk of dying by a third and lower the risk of new cancers developing.

Reference to the Study, Evidence & Guardian Article on 1st June 2025-

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/01/exercise-better-than-drugs-after-cancer-treatment-international-trial-finds

I know that my personal battle with the disease is one that I cannot win, but at the very least, the exercise that I do is helping me to lead as fulfilling and “normal” life as possible. 

A huge thank you to Tracy.

Thank you for sharing your journey with us Graham.

You have come such along way since we met in February 2017.

I'm both humbled & privileged to have been part of your journey.

Our friendship & connection was instant.

I thank you for placing your trust & faith in me.

Every time I see you my heart leaps with joy.

Here's to you enjoy a fulfilling life for another 10+ years.

All my Love Tracy x

P.S

A excerpt from The Guardian Article...

For the first time in medical history, there was clear evidence that exercise was even better at preventing cancer recurrence and death than many of the drugs currently prescribed to patients, one of the world’s top cancer doctors said.

Dr Julie Gralow, the chief medical officer of Asco, who was not involved in the decade-long study, said the quality of its findings was the “highest level of evidence” and would lead to “a major shift in understanding the importance of encouraging physical activity during and after treatment”.

Patients who began a structured exercise regime with the help of a personal trainer or health coach after they completed treatment had a 37% lower risk of death and a 28% lower risk of recurrent or new cancers developing, compared with patients who received only health advice, the trial found.

Asked to put the effect of exercise on cancer patients’ outcomes into context, Gralow said: “We titled [the session it was presented in] As Good as a Drug. I would have retitled it Better than a Drug, because you don’t have all the side-effects.”