Cancer prehabilitation uses a multidisciplinary approach combining exercise, nutrition and psychological strategies to prepare patients for the challenges of cancer treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Evidence indicates that prehabilitating newly diagnosed patients with cancer before starting treatment can be beneficial. This may include conducting a physical and psychological assessment to establish a baseline function level, identifying impairments and providing targeted interventions to improve the patient’s health, thereby reducing the incidence and severity of current and future impairments related to cancer and its treatment (Silver & Baima 2013).

The process of prehabilitation for this complex group should be highly integrated with the treating surgical/medical team. Patients requiring amputation will benefit from preamputation counselling and comprehensive preoperative pain management to reduce the risk of phantom pain.

Medications should be reviewed at this point to ensure optimisation and to improve adherence to medicines used for comorbid conditions.