This piece was originally the John Snow Plenary Lecture given at the World Congress of Prehabilitation in London. It is introduced by Franco Carli, Professor of Anesthesia at McGill University and Associate Professor in the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at McGill University; our speaker is Gerrit Slooter, MD, PhD, Surgical Oncologist, Maxima Medical Centre, The Netherlands. If you would like to learn more about the conferences available this year checkout www.ebpom.org