More New Zealand men living with prostate cancer,
at any stage of diagnosis or treatment, will have access to
the bespoke exercise programme Prost-FIT as the Prostate
Cancer Foundation of New Zealand removes class entry
fees.
The Foundation’s Prost-FIT programme is a
national network of exercise classes for these men, and
since the 2020 Christchurch pilot, Prost-FIT has
successfully rolled out across the country with registered
exercise professionals delivering more than 940 class hours
at a nominal fee to participants.
“We want to build on
this success, so under the new model men will now have
access to one free class per week for forty weeks annually,
effective immediately,” says the Foundation’s Chief
Executive Peter Dickens, “we know how much Prost-FIT has
improved the lives of participants and are pleased to be
able to remove one of the barriers to participation – the
cost.”
As we head into Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month, Blue September, we are acutely aware of
being the voice of the thousands of men living with the
disease who deserve to have the opportunity to live their
best life.
Being active can help manage some of the
common side effects of treatment, speed up recovery, improve
quality of life and facilitate mental wellbeing, and
research suggests that exercise may help lower the chances
of cancer returning in some people by as much as
50-60%.
Delivered in a supporting environment, with an
emphasis on fun and social interaction, Prost-FIT is more
than an exercise programme, offering camaraderie and
opportunities for enjoyable shared experiences.
The
programme was designed in partnership with Exercise as
Medicine NZ, a charitable trust that specialises in exercise
for people with long-term conditions like prostate
cancer.
“We acknowledge the generous assistance of
the Dry July NZ Trust which has enabled the implementation
and growth of Prost-FIT to date and are excited for the
future of the programme and its impact on the lives of men
living with prostate cancer, and their
families.”
Background
The Prostate
Cancer Foundation provides support and education to men
and their families living with a prostate cancer
diagnosis, raises awareness of the disease, advocates to
improve early diagnosis of prostate cancer and
invests significantly in research into new treatments and
approaches.
The timing of rolling out free Prost-FIT
classes coincides with Prostate Cancer Awareness
Month, September, and the Foundation’s key awareness and
fundraising campaign Blue September.
The Prostate
Cancer Foundation Prost-FIT programme is a nationwide
network of exercise classes for men to help them before,
during and after prostate cancer treatment. It has
been designed in partnership with Exercise as Medicine NZ, a
charitable trust that specialises in exercise for people
with long-term conditions, like prostate cancer.
Prost-FIT is designed in line with international
recommendations and incorporates the key exercise elements
which help combat common side-effects and comorbidities of
prostate cancer.
More information visit: https://prostate.org.nz/prostfit/
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