On the eve of World Cancer Day, Southampton’s Professor Alan Jackson will talk at the United Nations in Austria about how the work of doctors and others who work in cancer treatment would be improved if they had a clearer grasp of nutrition and the steps cancer patients can take to improve their health.

Prof Jackson is Emeritus Professor of Human Nutrition within Medicine at the University of Southampton which is part of the Wessex Cancer Alliance. He was speaking as part of an expert panel at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) event ‘A Roadmap to a Cancer-free World‘ on February 2.

His expertise forms part of a Wessex Cancer Alliance Living with and Beyond Cancer programme with £2 million funding from NHS England.

The programme will combine exercise, nutrition and psychological well-being for cancer patients after their hospital treatment ends.

The programme for patients treated for breast, colorectal and prostate cancer is based on a Southampton pilot funded by the Movember Foundation, tackling critical areas of prostate cancer care.

The True NTH programme identified that a significant proportion of men felt abandoned by the healthcare system after their initial treatment had been completed and has developed a series of programmes to address the needs of men along all points of their cancer journey, helping them achieve a good quality of life and to feel knowledgeable and confident about managing their condition.

Now the findings are forming part of a wider programme to support patients in taking back control of their lives.

Living with and beyond cancer is one of the cornerstones of NHS England’s cancer strategy Achieving World Class Outcomes.

Cancer is one of six priorities in the NHS England Five Year Forward View.