In 2018 Dr Stefan van Rooijen finished his PhD in colorectal cancer surgery: introducing prehabilitation. Together with the research team at the Montréal General Hospital in Canada (led by Prof. F. Carli) and Maxima Medical Center (Gerrit Slooter and Rudi Roumen) he has designed a worldwide prehabilitation program, known as the international protocol.

At the moment he is finishing his training as a General Physician. With this move to primary care he is reaching his goals: making prehabilitation available for everyone: more sustainable, more accessible, and more cost effective. He has recently published his book: ‘Fit4Life – the doctor’s prescription’, to make knowledge of the Fit4Surgery program and healthy lifestyle more accessible for patients.

In his position as network creator at Radboud University Medical Center he is currently creating the Dutch Fit4Surgery network, making Fit4Surgery a sustainable healthcare program in the Netherlands.