Can e-cycling help people recovering from prostate and breast cancer?

Being physically active after a cancer diagnosis is linked to better health. It reduces the risk of cancer coming back, improves quality of life, and lessens fatigue caused by treatment. It also reduces the risk of death, both from cancer and other causes.

However, many people with cancer don’t get enough physical activity.

E-cycling (using an electric bike) could help, especially for those who find traditional cycling too difficult. Although some people think e-bikes are ‘cheating’, our research has shown they still provide enough exercise to benefit health.

Project aims

This project will test how feasible it is to run two e-cycling pilot studies – one for people with prostate cancer and one for people with breast cancer. These trials aim to find out:

• Can people with prostate cancer and breast cancer be recruited into an e-cycling study?
• Will they agree to be randomly assigned to groups, stick with the study, and fully participate in it? How many instances are there of people getting hurt?
• Does the study work as intended?
• Is the study acceptable to participants, instructors and the clinical team?
• What are participants’ experiences of e-cycling?

We will also look at whether e-cycling shows promise in improving physical and mental health, though this study is not large enough to prove whether it is effective or not.

What we hope to achieve

This project will help us understand whether a larger trial is worth doing. If the results are promising, we will apply for funding to run a full-scale trial, starting with people living with prostate cancer.

We’ll share early findings at a public event in Bristol, where people can also try e-bikes. We’ll also share a short film following two participants, to bring their stories to life.