Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ Announces Fees Free Prost-FIT

More New Zealand men living with prostate cancer, at any stage of diagnosis or treatment, will have access to the bespoke exercise programme Prost-FIT as the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand removes class entry fees.

The Foundation’s Prost-FIT programme is a national network of exercise classes for these men, and since the 2020 Christchurch pilot, Prost-FIT has successfully rolled out across the country with registered exercise professionals delivering more than 940 class hours at a nominal fee to participants.

"We want to build on this success, so under the new model men will now have access to one free class per week for forty weeks annually, effective immediately," says the Foundation’s Chief Executive Peter Dickens, "we know how much Prost-FIT has improved the lives of participants and are pleased to be able to remove one of the barriers to participation - the cost."

As we head into Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Blue September, we are acutely aware of being the voice of the thousands of men living with the disease who deserve to have the opportunity to live their best life.

Being active can help manage some of the common side effects of treatment, speed up recovery, improve quality of life and facilitate mental wellbeing, and research suggests that exercise may help lower the chances of cancer returning in some people by as much as 50-60%.

Delivered in a supporting environment, with an emphasis on fun and social interaction, Prost-FIT is more than an exercise programme, offering camaraderie and opportunities for enjoyable shared experiences.

The programme was designed in partnership with Exercise as Medicine NZ, a charitable trust that specialises in exercise for people with long-term conditions like prostate cancer.

"We acknowledge the generous assistance of the Dry July NZ Trust which has enabled the implementation and growth of Prost-FIT to date and are excited for the future of the programme and its impact on the lives of men living with prostate cancer, and their families."

Background

The Prostate Cancer Foundation provides support and education to men and their families living with a prostate cancer diagnosis, raises awareness of the disease, advocates to improve early diagnosis of prostate cancer and invests significantly in research into new treatments and approaches.

The timing of rolling out free Prost-FIT classes coincides with Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, September, and the Foundation’s key awareness and fundraising campaign Blue September.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation Prost-FIT programme is a nationwide network of exercise classes for men to help them before, during and after prostate cancer treatment. It has been designed in partnership with Exercise as Medicine NZ, a charitable trust that specialises in exercise for people with long-term conditions, like prostate cancer. Prost-FIT is designed in line with international recommendations and incorporates the key exercise elements which help combat common side-effects and comorbidities of prostate cancer.

More information visit: https://prostate.org.nz/prostfit/

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