Cancer patient joins PREPARE for Surgery team to complete Snowdon climb
Cancer patient joins PREPARE for Surgery team to complete Snowdon climb
14 July 2017
Rashmi Chauhan, 61, reached the top of Mount Snowdon alongside the medical team from St Mary's Hospital who helped him through his illness.
Rashmi was housebound and feeding through a tube for several months following an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his oesophagus last June.
He was supported on his road to recovery by the PREPARE for Surgery team, who offer a unique multi-disciplinary service providing support for patients before and after surgery.
The team, along with Rashmi, climbed Snowdon as part of the Three Peaks Challenge, which also included Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike. They raised more than £10,000 for Imperial Health Charity, which supports the five hospitals of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
Rashmi, who lives in Hillingdon and owns a dry-cleaning business and a milkshake and dessert shop, said: “I would never have envisaged that I could climb this mountain. It is amazing what the human body can endure, how you can find that inner strength.
“I never looked back, I just kept going and going and going. When I reached the top, that’s when it all sunk in. I thought, I’m going to cherish this moment for the rest of my life. It was a tremendous feeling to be back with those people again.
“Climbing Snowdon confirmed for me that I’m in far better health than I was before the operation. The PREPARE team have given me a new lease of life. I’m a different person today than I was before the operation.”
Last year Imperial Health Charity awarded a grant of almost £100,000 to develop the PREPARE programme.
The programme provides personalised support and aims to put patients in the best position for their surgery and recovery thereafter. It includes structured exercise, psychological interventions to improve self-confidence and nutritional support.
The PREPARE team recently received two British Medical Journal awards – Surgical Team of the Year and the Patient Participation award for patient involvement.
Imperial Health Charity will put all the money raised from the Three Peaks Challenge back into supporting the PREPARE team’s work with cancer patients.
Venetia Wynter-Blyth, Nurse Consultant and PREPARE programme co-leader, said: “It was a privilege accompanying Rashmi to the summit of Snowdon. It is testimony to Rashmi, but also the PREPARE programme and team. Climbing Snowdon requires physical fitness but also mental resolve – these are attributes that we develop throughout the programme.
“Rashmi embodies the spirit of PREPARE and is an inspiration to many – not just patients but healthcare professionals. We plan to make this an annual event and have even started to recruit patients for next year.”
Krishna Moorthy, Consultant Surgeon and PREPARE programme co-leader, said: “When Rashmi told me that he felt healthier after surgery than before, it confirmed something that we have noticed in many of our patients. The benefits of PREPARE extend beyond the immediate period around surgery through sustaining positive behavioural and lifestyle changes well into the future.”
