wow 8 years later im reading this... it was so dissapointing for me to be hissed out of the groups at the time and as a result i stopped using these forums all together. it could have been a place where we all learned from eachothers experiences... i never forgot how the women who jumped on my back about strength training at the time.. and i hope that now that exercise science and cancer science has caught up to my strength training advocacy nearly one decade ago, that more and more people with breast cancer will explore the benefits of strength based exercise. since i wrote this, exercise physiology has now taken over most cancer centres and encouraging people to do strength based exercises alongside cancer treatment. i am damn proud that i was one of the first to advocate for this. i am damn proud of my body and now retaining my youth, my amazingly strong body, being able to outlift the cis men in my gym, being able to carry things at age 43 that not many Presumed Female At Birth people can, like bales of hay, 20kgs of groceries without any trouble, being able to have been one of the only people in my entire group of cancer experiencers to have full range of motion and no complications with movement or nerve or lymphatic complications due to lack of exercise. im so proud of the shine on my skin from strength training, i am so proud of looking like the athlete that i am, and being physically more fit and stronger than most people half my age; and beating cancer to a pulp, empowering myself and others with physical strength and mental strength that goes with it. i am damn proud that i wrote this back in 2016 and now reading it 2024. i will always continue to advocate for the empowerment of women to gain strength.
