We have a dietitian onsite to support your nutrition throughout treatment and beyond.

A dietitian is a nutritional expert who can help people understand optimal eating for their specific condition. They provide guidance on how your diet can be modified to treat the symptoms of disease, and ensure you keep up your nutrition throughout treatment, allowing you to get the most out of your food.^3,4

A healthy diet is important whatever your diagnosis. Your food input will help to:²

• keep up your energy level and strength
• speed up recovery time
• boost the immune system.

There is also evidence that a plant-based diet, high in fruits, vegetables and fibre, and low in saturated fats, may help reduce the risk of developing cancer or help prevent it from progressing if it does occur.⁵

Some studies have shown that certain foods may be beneficial, and some may be harmful for people with cancer – however, research in this area is ongoing.⁶ A dietitian can give you advice on the latest research while ensuring that you eat a healthy, balanced diet, without unnecessarily cutting out foods that are good for you, and you enjoy.⁶

Exercise has been shown to play an important role in treatment and recovery from prostate cancer. GenesisCare partners with exercise physiologists to provide safe and effective exercise programmes for you.⁷

Exercise is often an important part of your cancer treatment and can help improve your physical and mental health and wellbeing.⁸ Medical guidelines in this area say that all people with cancer try to be as active as their current condition allows.⁸

Exercise has been shown to play an important role in treatment and recovery from cancer.^9,10 There is good evidence that exercise interventions can improve quality-of-life, cancer-related fatigue, fitness, and lower-body strength and functioning in people with cancer.¹¹

Exercise may also help reduce the side effects of radiation and drug therapies.¹⁰

Some studies also suggest people with many types of cancer who are physically active after their diagnosis have a reduced risk of their cancer returning and a better overall survival.^10,12

The role of the physiotherapist is to understand the structure and movement of the human body.¹⁸ This is particularly relevant to cancer and treatment, both of which can cause physical impairment, such as loss of strength, balance, flexibility and pain.

A physiotherapist can help to prevent, limit or repair physical damage, so that you can maintain your physical function and quality of life.^19,20

Physiotherapy is used before and after many types of  cancer surgery to help treat urinary incontinence and urgency (bladder leakage or loss of control), changes in movement patterns due to scaring or drains, lymphoedema (swelling in parts of the body, usually a limb, following lymph node removal – as often occurs with breast cancer surgery).^21,22

It is normal to have some loss of bladder control after prostate surgery. This happens because some of the muscles responsible for bladder control are removed during surgery. These muscles also play a role in getting and maintaining an erection.²² Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is a treatment that physiotherapists provide to help improve the strength, endurance and coordination of these muscles through exercise. PFMT may help you to regain bladder control more quickly after your surgery.²² It is also one approach for helping improve erectile function after prostate surgery.²³

GenesisCare has partnered with Penrith Physio to ensure you are getting expert support. The physiotherapists offer tailored support programmes including:

• Lymphoedema management
• Men’s health service
• Women’s health physiotherapy
• Musculoskeletal physiotherapy and exercise medicine

Packages will be tailored to you and your needs. Your doctor and nurse will discuss options with you, these may include:

• Exercise: class pass to attend exercise classes of your choice
• Physiotherapy: one initial consult and two follow-up sessions (further sessions may be covered on private medical insurance)
• Dietitian: one initial consult and two follow-up sessions (Medicare rebates are available for additional sessions)

1. SBRT treatment protocols 2019. Data on file.
2. Cancer Council NSW. Radiation therapy for brain cancer. Available at: https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/brain-cancer/treatment/radiotherapy/#Stereotactic-radiosurgery [Accessed 20/01/21]
3. Cancer Council Victoria, Nutrition – Practical help and information. Available at: https://www.cancervic.org.au/living-with-cancer/nutrition/nutrition-overview. Accessed on 25/03/2021
4. Queensland Government. An Evidence-based demand management toolkit for dietetic services. Available at:  https://www.health.qld.gov.au/data/assets/pdf_file/0025/668014/feeds-cancercare.pdf.
5. De Cicco P, et al. 2019;11(7):1514.
6. Prostate Cancer UK. What foods should I eat or avoid if I have prostate cancer? Available at: https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information/living-with-prostate-cancer/your-diet-and-physical-activity/foods-to-eat-or-avoid. Accessed on: 30/03/2021
7. Exercise Right. Accredited exercise physiologists. Available at: https://exerciseright.com.au/what-is-an-accredited-exercise-physiologist/. Accessed on: 30/03/2021
8. Exercise Right. The role of exercise physiologists in the treatment of cancer. Available at: https://exerciseright.com.au/the-role-of-exercise-physiologists-in-the-treatment-of-cancer/. Accessed on: 30/03/2021
9. Exercise is Medicine, Australia. Available at: https://www.prostate.org.au/media/790463/eim-factsheet_prostate-cancer_public2020.pdf. Accessed on: 30/03/2021
10. Cannioto RA, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2021;113(4):54-63.
11. Bourke L, et al. Eur Urol. 2016; 69(4):693-703.
12. Friedenreich CM, et al. Eur Urol. 2016;70(4):576-585.
13. Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Psycho-oncology services. Available at: https://www.mylifehouse.org.au/services/allied-health/psycho-oncology/. Accessed on: 30/03/2021
14. Cancer Care Centre, Cairns Based Hospital. Oncology Allied health Information Booklet. Available at: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/153707/cc_ah_booklet.pdf. Accessed on: 25/03/2021
15. https://www.prostate.org.au/media/195765/proscare_monograph_final_2013.pdf.
16. Lang-Rollin I, Berberich G. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2018;20(1):13-22.
17. Chambers SK, et al. Psycho-oncology. 2017;26(7):873-913.
18. Allied Health Professions Australia. Physiotherpay. Available at: https://ahpa.com.au/allied-health-professions/physiotherapy/. Accessed on: 31/03/2021
19. Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Physiotherapy play an important role in cancer treatment. Available at: https://www.mylifehouse.org.au/physiotherapy-plays-important-role-cancer-treatment/. Accessed on: 31/03/2021
20. Academy of the American Physical Therapy Association. What is oncologic physical therapy? Available at: https://oncologypt.org/oncology-for/. Accessed on: 31/03/2021
21. Cancer Council Australia. Understanding lymphoedema. Available at: https://www.cancer.org.au/assets/pdf/understanding-lymphoedema. Accessed on: 31/03/2021
22. Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. Physiotherapy before and after prostate cancer surgery. Available at: https://www.prostate.org.au/media/743467/physiotherapy-before-and-after-prostate-cancer-surgery.pdf. Accessed on: 31/03/2021
23. Physiopedia. Physiotherapy treatment after prostate cancer. Available at: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Physiotherapy_Treatment_After_Prostate_Cancer. Accessed on: 31/03/2021
24. NSW Government Health. Oncology social work and counselling service. Available at: https://mnclhd.health.nsw.gov.au/services/allied-health/social-work/oncology-social-work-counselling-service/. Accessed on: 31/03/2021