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Psychology student starts crowdfunding for cancer PhD research

'We believe that developing a protocol to help people fight cancer is extremely valuable, given that cancer is such a prevalent and devastating disease. If you believe so too, you can support us in realising this mission.' Master's student in Psychology Saskia Heijnen starts crowdfunding to make her PhD project possible.

Investigating how exercise can enhance the fight against cancer

'We need to raise € 24,700 in order to make this research programme a reality. We’ve got the facilities at Kassel University and Leiden University, we’ve got the background knowledge, we’ve got several experts  and we’ve got a researcher passionate to make this her daily business.  All we need is the money to actually execute this research, and get the knowledge into the world. Will you make this your mission too?'

Support us

'To read more about our project, and read about how you can support us, go to Start Some Good.'

Increasing evidence is accumulating to show that people who have battled cancer, or who are at high risk of getting it, benefit particularly from exercise. For instance, by lowering estrogen levels, cardio is a protective factor for women at high risk of developing breast cancer. For those who have already had to fight cancer, more exercise is related to lower mortality levels, in addition to improvements in overall quality of life. 

Our mission

These findings evoke many questions: What types of exercise are beneficial? How often, how intensively, and for how long should people exercise? What about individual differences, what may cause them and how can one personalize exercise programmes accordingly? How does exercise affect the chances of developing cancer again? And how is daily life and work affected by exercise? Among others, these are the questions we aim to answer in a three-year research programme.

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