MEN who have been through prostate cancer treatment should play golf at least twice a week to aid their recovery, according to doctors. 

The popular sport provides the right mix of physical effort and vital social interaction that cancer patients need to improve their health and wellbeing. 

The recommendation comes in a report by prostate cancer specialists from the UK and Italy published in the journal Support Care Cancer. 

They say social sports like golf improve quality of life and help to restore self-confidence. 

But it also boosts cardiorespiratory fitness, a crucial part of the cancer recovery process. 

Up to 40 per cent of men who survive prostate cancer suffer depression as they struggle to come to terms with the impact the disease has on their lives. 

This can have a knock-on effect on their physical as well as mental health, which could slow down their recovery. 

Playing golf regularly – ideally twice a week for 90 minutes a time – could be the perfect solution, the experts said in their report.

‘Golf involves long periods of moderate-intensity walking, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness indicators and is recommended as a means of improving health and wellbeing,’ they suggest.

‘A typical 18-hole round of golf will take more than an hour to complete.  

‘Prostate cancer survivors may gain increased balance, muscular function and strength by playing golf regularly. 

‘And the overall risk of injury is lower for prostate cancer survivors when compared to contact sports.’ 

The report added: ‘Golf also enables people to make new friends and fosters a sense of belonging in the community. 

‘Green exercise activities (those that take place in a natural environment such as golf), have also been demonstrated to boost self-esteem and reduce stress, anger, and depression.’