Survivors' Voices

"On the days where I feel the most tired, I try to make it a priority to go on a walk or a short bike ride. Although I'm exercising, it makes me less tired and gives me more energy to let me do the rest of the things I need to do on that day."

- 63 y/o Ovarian Cancer Survivor

"When I received my cancer diagnosis, I was sure they had made a mistake. I had 2 children under the age of 10 and I was teaching full time. I couldn’t imagine how I would be able to be there for my children and deal with the effects of my treatment. Daily walks and maintaining a regular yoga practice supported me in feeling better. Movement nurtured me physically, emotionally and spiritually and helped me stay positive and hopeful. Even on the days I felt too sick after chemo, I came to trust the beneficial impact in the power of movement to help me face whatever I was experiencing and stay grounded in the present moment."

- 60 y/o Breast Cancer Survivor

"Exercise has always been central both to my quest to be healthy and to my image of myself as a fit person. Since contracting prostate cancer, exercise has become even more important to me. Exercise gives me agency at a time when my cancer cells are doing their best to gain control of my body. Recent studies have confirmed that exercise aids the human body in fighting cancer."

-John Thomas, Prostate Cancer Survivor

"Physical Therapy means a healthy life for me. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was shocked to say the least. I was very depressed after the treatment, and physical therapy was my first step to recovery. It gave me a chance to start losing weight and start feeling normal again. The most important thing –it helped me fight my depression. It made me feel like my body belonged to me again and not to the disease. Physical therapy is a real chance to get my life back.

I am thankful for physical therapy for, my good mood, my muscle joy, my fast recovery after breast cancer treatment, my feeling of ‘normalcy’ again, getting back my life, feeling stronger and optimistic about the future, having back joy and my smile, my motivation to lose weight and stay healthy"

-Breast Cancer Survivor

"Before I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma I exercised consistently and used exercise as a form of stress relief. Unfortunately, the symptoms that eventually led to my diagnosis included a cough that led to broken ribs and caused me to stop exercising consistently for about 3 months.

I began to start trying to exercise again around the time of my first chemotherapy treatment, but found it hard to keep a consistent routine with exercise. Because I was receiving chemotherapy treatment every other week, I found it difficult to find times that I felt well enough to exercise, as well as had the time to exercise (as I am also a student). I did, however, find that when I was able to get exercise in, even if it was a very little amount, I felt less stressed and more like myself. Being able to exercise on occasion helped me to normalize my life as much as I could. It also helped to maintain my fatigue when possible (especially in later treatments, as my fatigue got worse with more treatments).

Chemotherapy had a large toll on my body. About 1 week after my last treatment, I tried to start getting back into a more regular exercise routine, however, I then realized just how much of my strength and endurance had deteriorated. At that time, I became extremely frustrated with my body and my inability to complete most of the exercise that I was able to do 8 months prior. I started having muscle pain and cramping with any moderate-heavy exercise. Because of the pain and frustration at this point I found it difficult to maintain a routine.

I’m now about 5 months out from my last treatment, and my strength and endurance has finally started to return, but I still have a long way to go. With exercise I have started to feel more like my normal self again. I have been able to take my mind off the disease and focus on recovery through exercise. It has helped me to recognize my strength and relaxes me on stressful days. It also helps me to control many anxious thoughts that have come along with recovery at this time. "

- 24 y/o Hodgkin's Lymphoma Survivor