Surviving cancer: Caring for the whole person
With over 1.2 million people living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis in Australia, supporting the whole person metabolically, physically, and emotionally has never been more critical.
Cancer doesn’t end when treatment does, we need to help survivors live well and improve their systemic health.
Post-cancer treatment
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Australia and worldwide, but survival is increasing. Yet even after treatment ends, many survivors continue to struggle. Chronic fatigue, anxiety, hormonal imbalances, inflammation, and lingering pain are common. These are not side effects, they’re part of the lived experience of survivorship.
A new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that healthy lifestyle habits post-diagnosis can significantly improve outcomes. Survivors who followed American Cancer Society guidelines on weight, physical activity, diet, and alcohol, saw 24 percent lower overall mortality and a 33 percent drop in cardiovascular-related deaths.
Despite this, fewer than 4 percent of survivors meet even these broad guidelines. Why? Most are not given clear, evidence-based guidance on how to manage diet, exercise, sleep, stress, or mental wellbeing. Oncologists may not have the time or training to provide this kind of targeted support.
Treatment isn't just the beginning
Treating the tumour is just the beginning, we need more personalised, mechanism-based interventions that consider the complex biology of survivorship, from metabolism and hormones to inflammation and gut health.
Research shows that survivors often experience persistent metabolic and hormonal dysregulation, like insulin resistance, compensatory hyperinsulinemia and chronic inflammation. These metabolic changes increase the risk not only of cancer recurrence but also of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death among cancer survivors.
What we’re doing at the Charles Perkins Centre
At the Charles Perkins Centre, researchers are working to design lifestyle interventions that are grounded in biological mechanisms shared between metabolism, cancer and aging. This includes understanding how diet, movement, microbiome balance, and stress interact with inflammation and immune function over time.
“Lifestyle advice must be tailored and realistic,” says Kate Williamson, an exercise physiologist of the Charles Perkins Centre’s Health for Life program at RPA. “If you’re living with fatigue, chronic pain, or fear of recurrence, a standard exercise and diet regime isn’t enough. Survivors need empathetic, practical support to help them regain control over their health.”
The CPC RPA Health for Life workshops are designed to meet this need. Free and community-based, the program provides patients with metabolic diseases, including cancer survivors, with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to make simple, effective changes to their diet and lifestyle, supported by experts in nutrition and exercise.
The future
Cancer care must move beyond a ‘treat and discharge’ model. Survivorship care should start from the moment of diagnosis and continue well after treatment, addressing the whole person, not just the disease. It’s time to integrate systemic health, emotional wellbeing, and lifestyle into mainstream cancer care.
Survivors deserve more than survival; they deserve health, vitality, and the chance to thrive. With personalised lifestyle support grounded in science, we can help cancer survivors not just live but live well.
Top 5 tips for holistic cancer survival support
- Start early: Include survivorship planning from diagnosis.
- Address the whole person: Support physical, emotional, and metabolic health.
- Focus on biology: Target pathways like inflammation, insulin resistance, and gut health.
- Offer personalised advice: Tailor strategies to symptoms, capacity, and preferences.
- Build long-term support: Make lifestyle guidance ongoing, not one-off.
Disclaimer
This information is intended as general guidance. For medical advice, consult your healthcare provider.