Directors from Macmillan Cancer Support UK yesterday (Wednesday 29^th November) travelled to the Granite City to meet with the trailblazing team behind the pioneering Move More Aberdeen (MMA) programme.

Key figures from the national cancer charity, led by John Pearson, Executive Director of Cancer Support Operations, heard from the MMA team, showcasing the successful work and positive impact of the project through integration with NHS Grampian, and other third sector cancer charities, in a presentation on the day.

The award-winning programme, aimed at supporting people living with and beyond cancer, is the first cancer-specific physical activity programme in the city and offers a person-centred package of activities including walks, gentle movement classes, circuit training and gardening.

The meeting included discussions about how to guarantee the sustainability of MMA, helping to ensure it can benefit citizens of Aberdeen for years to come. As well as how learning from the programme can be applied to help others with long-term health conditions become more physically active, improving overall wellbeing.

The visit was also an opportunity to recognise the success of the local programme and a recent win at the Macmillan Professional Excellence Awards, where MMA took the top spot in the Integration Excellence category at the annual conference in London. The programme has had a fruitful year, picking up two top industry awards and being named as finalist four times in 2017.

Working with local partners CLAN Cancer Support, Paths for All, Maggie’s Aberdeen and Friends of ANCHOR, as well as training up a skilled volunteer workforce to further integrate the programme into the community, MMA is embracing cross-sector collaboration and has successfully integrated physical activity into cancer care.

Speaking after the visit, Alistair Robertson Sport Aberdeen’s Managing Director, said:

“This was a great opportunity to highlight the success and innovation of the programme which is delivered by Sport Aberdeen and funded by Macmillan Cancer Support.

“I am proud to see the Move More Aberdeen project at the forefront of pioneering cancer care, and through positive integration with NHS Grampian, and local third sector cancer support charities, we can continue to impact the lives of people living with and beyond the diagnosis.

“Through forging new ways of working with NHS Grampian and broadening partnerships, the team has successfully integrated physical activity into cancer care and by utilising the learning from the project to date, Sport Aberdeen hopes to continue to positively impact people living with other long-term conditions”

John Pearson, Macmillan Cancer Support UK Executive Director of Cancer Support Operations, said:

“I am delighted that Move More Aberdeen is proving to be so hugely successful. The programme benefits and supports people living with cancer from the very point of diagnosis, throughout treatment and beyond.

“Physical activity is proven to have a positive impact on participants and we are proud to embrace cross-sector collaboration with Sport Aberdeen, NHS Grampian and other local charities to deliver a high quality physical activity programme accessible to all people living with cancer in Aberdeen.”