Brian’s full story
Brian Bushell (retired pharmacist)
When Brian retired as a pharmacist aged 74, he was looking forward to pursuing his passions – model railways and playing classical guitar and soprano saxophone. However, two years later he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was told he’d have to undergo hormone therapy and radiotherapy.
When he began his prehabiltation programme in January 2021, he weighed 20st 12lb, had recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and was on six different medications.
“I hated the thought of taking something like metformin and hoped for a miracle, as I was already suffering from peripheral neuropathy in my feet,” he said.” As well I have sleep apnoea and my right hip has also been troubling me, making walking quite painful and unpleasant. I persuaded the nurse to give me three months to try to lower my readings and turn things around.”
A QuestPrehab exercise physiologist prioritised weight loss and encouraged Brian to monitor his diabetes by regularly measuring his blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Four months after starting his programme, Brian had lost 2 stone 8lb – his blood pressure had improved – he is no longer considered to have Type 2 diabetes – and no longer needs to take three of his medications.
Brian completed his radiotherapy course in the summer of 2021. The good news is that the cancer hadn’t spread outside of the prostate capsule and his prognosis is good. “Without the care and support from the Quest Prehab team, I wouldn’t have been in a good condition to fight my prostate cancer. Without this programme I would have been lost – I can’t recommend it strongly enough.”
“I’m now feeling generally healthier and am now able to walk a lot further with very little pain or discomfort. The weight loss obviously accounts for this … and I think the programme saved the NHS money by not having to do a hip operation.”
“As a pharmacist I’d never heard of prehabilitation. I understand it’s in its infancy, but it should be proclaimed through medical journals such as The Pharmaceutical Journal and the British Medical Journal.”
If you have recently been diagnosed with Cancer or are in need of surgery, you could benefit from prehabilitation. Please contact us to find out how we can help you prepare for your treatment. QuestPrehab™ is available to patients across the UK.