PINC & STEEL

01/09/2025

🎉🎉 We’re thrilled to share that our amazing PINC & STEEL Oncology Physio, Stacey Dangen, is a finalist in the Westfield Manukau Local Heroes Awards 2025!

Stacey is one of just three incredible finalists, and if she wins, she’ll secure a $20,000 grant to support her vital work helping people through cancer rehabilitation.

🩷Now it’s over to you! The winner is chosen by community vote — so we need your support.

Please take a moment to vote for Stacey today:
👉 https://www.westfield.co.nz/manukau/news/7bB85aVdZjx6O5YichvI2u/local-heroes-2025

Let’s help Stacey bring this funding home for cancer rehab! 🩷

01/09/2025

The hidden cost of recovery after cancer — in people’s own words.
We recently spoke with people living with and beyond cancer about what life is really like after treatment.

The insights were raw, honest, and captured a reality that’s rarely talked about — fatigue, pain, loss of identity, and silence to protect the people they love.

To everyone who opened up and shared their story: thank you.

Your voices are shedding light on what so many experience in silence.
This lack of structured recovery support is not only inequitable — it’s invisible.
And it’s costing people years of vitality, function, and wellbeing after treatment ends.
We can’t fix what we don’t acknowledge.

Read more here:
🔗https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reality-few-talk-lou-james-mnzm--ixcxc

Why recovery is about so much more than finishing treatment. “You survived.

28/08/2025

“Doing exercise and having a lot of laughs was so good for my mental wellbeing.”

Meet Teena — a nurse, swimmer, and cyclist, who at 63 was feeling the healthiest she’d ever been when she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer in February 2024.

The diagnosis came as a shock. Teena was quickly referred to Christchurch Hospital where she underwent major surgery in March — a total hysterectomy, along with the removal of her cervix, fallopian tubes, and part of her bowel.

Post-surgery, the Cancer Society connected her to the PINC & STEEL Cancer Rehabilitation programme at MyPhysio Timaru, where she met Pam.

“Pam was wonderful. Not many women have ovarian cancer, and I felt very alone. Having her support gave me confidence to join a group class. Exercising with others going through cancer made such a difference. It gave me connection, hope, and confidence.”

Today, Teena is in remission, back at the gym, and feeling like her old self again. She's passionate about sharing her story so others know support is available.

👉 If you or someone you love is going through treatment or recovery, cancer rehab can make a world of difference. Special thanks to our partners Ovarian Cancer Foundation NZ and certified PINC & STEEL physiotherapists helping people rebuild after cancer.

24/08/2025

Thank you to every individual who shared what recovery means during Cancer Rehab Awareness Week — your voices bring hope and visibility to this vital part of cancer care.

We are deeply grateful to all the organisations who stood with us to amplify this message.

Together, we’ve shown that cancer rehabilitation is about so much more than treatment — it’s about restoring function and strength, rebuilding confidence, and reclaiming life.

Support doesn’t just change recovery — it transforms lives, strengthens whānau, empowers workplaces, and builds healthier, more connected communities. 💛

23/08/2025

Many people delay rehab thinking they’re not strong enough yet — but cancer rehab is designed to help you get there.

The Myth:
“You need to be strong before starting rehab.”
🚫 Not true.

The Evidence:
✅ Starting early can reduce symptoms, boost quality of life, and lower risk of long-term disability.
✅ Even years after treatment, you can still improve strength, stamina, pain, and mental wellbeing.
✅ Structured exercise can lower the risk of recurrence and help prevent heart disease & osteoporosis.

It’s never too late to start.
Cancer rehab meets you where you are — and helps you get where you want to be.

20/08/2025

Join us on September 5th for this amazing event!!!

17/08/2025

Tomorrow it begins...

Cancer Rehab Awareness Week.
Stories, strength, and support — all week long.

Your recovery deserves support. 💛

13/08/2025

Coming next week… 💛
Cancer Rehab Awareness Week 2025

Cancer Rehab Awareness Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the vital role cancer rehabilitation and exercise play in recovery.

This Year’s Theme: Your Recovery Deserves Support

In 2025, our focus is intentionally person-centred — recognising that recovery is about so much more than removing the disease. It’s about restoring strength, rebuilding confidence, and reclaiming the ability to fully participate in life.

Throughout the week, you’ll hear what recovery support truly means — from people living with and beyond cancer, their families, and the physiotherapists who walk alongside them.

With your support, we aim to:
✅ Increase the visibility and value of cancer rehabilitation
✅ Break down misconceptions about who it’s for and when it should start
✅ Reach those suffering in silence, believing nothing can be done
✅ Promote equitable access to rehab for all ages, cancer types, and communities

A huge thank you to the organisations who’ve already joined the collective voice of this campaign. Support doesn’t just change recovery — it transforms lives, strengthens whānau, empowers workplaces, and builds healthier, more connected communities.

Together, let’s make support part of every recovery story. 💛

Bowel Cancer New Zealand Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) Inc. Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand AYA Cancer Network Aotearoa Canteen Aotearoa Rotorua Breast Cancer Trust PhysiotherapyNZ Dove Hospice & Wellness Sweet Louise Talk Peach Gynaecological Foundation Breast Cancer Foundation NZ Ovarian Cancer Foundation NZ Active+ Active Health

04/08/2025

To every one of our incredible Dry July supporters – THANK YOU!

Because of your kindness, more New Zealanders will get access to personalised cancer rehab that restores movement, strength, and hope.

You're helping people move forward – not just survive, but truly recover – during one of the hardest chapters of their lives.

P.S. Fundraising stays open until the end of August, so there’s still time to donate if you want to contribute -https://www.dryjuly.co.nz/teams/pinc-and-steel-nz-2/donations/new

Dry July NZ Body In Motion Health Reboot Physio and Rehab Active+ Windsor Physio 🙏

28/07/2025

Our new website is LIVE
We’ve made it easier than ever to:

🔻Access cancer rehab support
🔺Learn about our work
🔻Refer patients
🔺Get involved and help fund recovery

For many people, this site is the first step toward getting their life back after cancer.
For providers, it’s a practical referral tool.
For us, it’s a way to make rehab more visible, accessible and valued.

Take a look and help us spread the word:
www.pincandsteel.com

27/07/2025

New Research Confirms: Tailored Exercise Medicine May Prolong Life in Patients with Cancer

A recent review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reinforces the growing evidence that tailored exercise can extend life for people with cancer.
At PINC & STEEL, we regularly witness the broader benefits - improved mobility, reduced fatigue, better emotional wellbeing, and a renewed sense of control - all of which help people live more fully after treatment.

📊 Across 42 studies and 47,000 patients:
* Higher muscle strength = 31% lower all-cause mortality

* Higher cardiorespiratory fitness = 46% lower all-cause mortality

* Benefits extend across cancer types and stages, including advanced disease
Yet despite mounting evidence, structured exercise remains underprescribed in oncology care.

💡 Our take: The evidence is clear - but for many cancer survivors, pain, fatigue, or mobility issues get in the way of exercise.

PINC & STEEL’s role is to help people overcome those barriers through targeted rehabilitation, so they can safely benefit from the full power of exercise medicine.

Read more here: https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2025/06/16/tailored-exercise-medicine-may-prolong-life-in-patients-with-cancer/