Becky is a Horsham-based female personal trainer with a specialist qualification in cancer exercise. She recently had the chance to share her expertise with other fitness professionals…
Last month, I gave a talk at an event for fellow fitness professionals, sharing what they should do when a client receives a cancer diagnosis. The talk was well-received, and there were a couple of things that would benefit from a broader awareness, so I thought I’d share them here for the benefit of anyone who wasn’t in the room.
Personal trainers – this one’s for you.
What to do when a client tells you that they have cancer
This can actually show up in a few ways. It may be that an existing – and previously healthy – client is diagnosed. It could also be that a friend or family member of yours receives a diagnosis. Maybe a prospective client shares that they’ve had cancer in the past. Or it might be you who finds out that they have cancer.
The answer to the question remains the same: the safest thing to do for yourself and your client is to refer them who holds a specialist qualification – in the UK, a Level 4 certificate in exercise for cancer rehabilitation.
This isn’t what a lot of people want to hear, but from an insurance perspective, as well as properly being able to support this person as their situation changes, it’s the correct one. Here’s why…
Specialist exercise support for cancer
Something that you can reassure your clients with is that, generally, it’s safe (and even recommended) for them to train whilst on treatment. Gone are the days when the best advice was to sit down and ride it out. We now know that exercise benefits our mental and physical health in ways that support our treatment journey, and that it’s advisable to maintain muscle mass if possible. And that means keeping moving.
However, there are a few important caveats, the details of which are best learned by doing proper training. Essentially:
- Exercise is a hard no in the immediate aftermath of surgery (this goes for any surgery ever, so should be a given, but it has to be said)
- There’s a list of “red flags” to monitor for, and this must be done prior to any training session, and the appropriate action taken
- Certain exercises and treatments don’t go together, and the nuance of this is important to learn – this isn’t the forum for that
Accessing specialist support for cancer exercise
If you’re not qualified yourself, my advice to personal trainers is to network, and do it before the information is needed. Have the number of someone like myself in your back pocket, just in case. Things tend to move quickly with cancer and, whilst you would be well within your professional boundaries to help your client with prehab – any training prior to treatment beginning – that’s only going to get you so far.
Find out who works in your area, who they work with (some coaches choose to specialise in one type of cancer – I don’t), and how available they are. You can also learn whether this person might be a good fit with your clients, as that still matters too.
Sadly, there isn’t a specialist in every locality, and many of us also operate online as a result. It’s worth doing your research.
Inspired by this?
Supporting people with and beyond cancer can be an incredibly powerful experience. The help I’ve been able to provide has changed lives for the better, and I’m only a few years in. There is plenty of work available, as cancer is impacting an increasing amount of people, so if you think that this might be something you’d like to do, I’d urge you to go ahead and qualify! In the UK, you can train with CanRehab (which was my choice) or the Wright Foundation, and both courses are reasonably-priced.
If you or anyone else you know has questions about cancer rehab training, please get in touch.