173: Yes To Life Show with Robin Daly MBE and Senior Cancer Nurse Specialist Maria Vega173: Yes To Life Show with Robin Daly MBE and Senior Cancer Nurse Specialist Maria Vega
UK Health Radio Podcast
Senior cancer nurse specialist Maria Vega talks with Robin Daly about bringing exercise, acupuncture, mindfulness and lifestyle changes into mainstream oncology. They discuss evidence-backed ways to ease treatment side effects and why properly trained nurses could play a central role in integrative cancer care.
46:41•21 May 2026
Practise What You Preach: Maria Vega on Integrative Cancer Care and Nursing
Episode Overview
- Lifestyle interventions such as nutrition, exercise and sleep can safely support symptom management in cancer care when grounded in evidence.
- Short, simple practices like one-minute breathwork and mindfulness breaks can significantly help both patients and staff handle stress and anxiety.
- Exercise has strong research support for people with cancer and can be adapted for every stage of the journey, from pre-surgery to palliative care.
- Acupuncture shows robust evidence for issues such as hot flushes, endocrine therapy–related joint pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and some cases of neuropathy.
- Oncology nurses are keen to learn integrative skills, but need formal training, protected time and a clear framework to share these tools confidently and safely.
“"Breathwork is my secret weapon when I feel anxious, when I feel a bit low, when I feel like, oh gosh, I can't cope with the day anymore."”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? Here, the focus is on people living with cancer and the professionals who refuse to accept a "soldier through" approach to care. Host Robin Daly MBE chats with senior cancer nurse specialist Maria Vega, whose career blends conventional oncology with lifestyle and complementary approaches. Working in UK oncology for over a decade, Maria describes spotting a "massive gap" between what evidence shows patients can do and what they actually get told in clinic.
That gap pushed her towards exercise, nutrition, sleep, mindfulness and acupuncture, all underpinned by research rather than guesswork. Maria shares how her natural drive to care led her from gastroenterology into oncology, despite warnings that it’s a tough speciality. She talks openly about the emotional toll on nurses and why she believes self-care is essential: even a one-minute breathing pause can reset her day.
As she puts it, "breathwork is my secret weapon when I feel anxious" – and patients respond when they see she genuinely "practices what she preaches". The conversation digs into her extra training as a cancer exercise specialist, medical acupuncturist and mindfulness-based cancer recovery facilitator.
Robin and Maria break down how evidence-backed exercise and acupuncture can help with hot flushes, joint pain from endocrine therapy, chemotherapy-induced nausea, fatigue, anxiety, sleep problems and peripheral neuropathy – all the side effects that can quietly wreck quality of life. A big theme is the untapped potential of nurses.
Maria argues that oncology nurses, especially clinical nurse specialists, are perfectly placed to share lifestyle and integrative tools, as long as they’re given proper training, protected time and a clear framework. She’s clear this isn’t about replacing doctors or medications, but about adding safe, evidence-based options that help people feel better during and after treatment.
If you or someone you love is dealing with cancer, this conversation may leave you asking: what else could be added to your care to help you feel more like yourself again?
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