ENCORE - Hunter region
Hi ladies, Many of you may be familiar with the YWCA ENCORE program. ENCORE is a FREE eight week program designed specifically for women who have experienced breast cancer at any time in their life. Incorporating exercises, relaxation techniques and information. It is safe, fun and therapeutic. The exercise program is specifically designed to target areas that have been affected by breast cancer surgery and treatment. These exercises improve strength, mobility and flexibility whilst the warm water in the hydrotherapy sessions relieve affected muscles. The program also offers information through guest speakers, links into local services, and opportunity to connect with local women who share a similar experience in a safe, fun and supportive environment. Many great friendships have been formed at Encore programs! Unfortunately ENCORE is no longer running nationally.... however YWCA Hunter has successfully secured funding to reboot ENCORE in the Hunter region. * SINGLETON - We're taking enrolments now! If you live in Singleton or surrounding areas we'd love for you to join us. 29 April-17 June 12:30-2:30PM Singleton Gym and Swim * NEWCASTLE - venue/dates will be released in the near future-most likely to be held in Oct/Nov. Please reach out if you have any questions: info@ywcahunterregion.org.au / 02 4929 2954 . More info on the program and registration info can be found here: www.ywcahunterregion.org.au/encore ; Thanks Nat, Caz & Yela YWCA Hunter Region Inc. 02 4929 2954 info@ywcahunterregion.org.au www.ywcahunterregion.org.au/encore ;
Come & try dragon boating for breast cancer survivors in Melbourne!
Do you live in the greater-Melbourne area? Come and try dragon boating for free for breast cancer survivors! Experience the wonderful benefits of outdoor exercise and support from fellow breast cancer survivors in beautiful Victoria Harbour, Docklands! You can come as many times as you like for 1 month for free! We can't wait to meet you! Dragons Abreast Melbourne Pink Phoenix is a Group Member of the wonderful Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA). Sign-up for your free 1 month Dragon Pass here: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/pinkphoenix/registration
Advocating for Exercise in Breast Cancer Groups
i just wanted to raise some awareness on an issue that has been bugging me and say something here. i have stopped participating in cancer groups because even though groups like this called "get active and keep well", the general fear and disapproval from other members is if someone starts exercising "more" than the generally accepted idea of what exercise is. anything more than that idea is frowned upon, and people have made me feel so angry and sad for sharing something that i am proud of and something that empowers me. with this group and other ones for breast cancer, after i share information about doing some exercise and training after my surgery and after chemo, i have had comments that really shot me down and basically either flat out said that i need "a reality check", or alluding to the fact that the best thing that i can do right now is rest, NOT exercise, and some had attacked me saying that i am putting myself up to put her down (!!). some saying "i wouldnt do that if i were you". well guess what... they are not me. and i am not them. most of these types of comments i have found came from people who have not had the same powerlifting training as me. or from people who did not have an athletic or regular exercise routine at all prior to diagnosis. and these comments have not only hurt me, but made me feel angry and frustrated with the very little emotional energy i already do not have. what i decide to do with my cancer experience is safe FOR ME. for example, women, let alone cancer survivors are fearful of anything to do with strength training. i will not go into the reasons for this and i will not go into the enormous benefits for strength training for women. but i'll give you an example. yesterday i went to the gym and felt great for it. amongst other things, i did 50kgs deadlift. now, if my best deadlift prior to diagnosis was 3 reps, 3 sets of 80kg deadlift prior to diagnosis, and i lifted 50kgs (3x2) nearly 2 months since recovering well from surgery with full range of motion, and 11 days after chemo, and assessing myself as i go, feeling fine and not really even puffed out, and not even sore the next 2 days, to me that means that it is safe for ME to do this. if i felt not ok before, during or after doing a 50kg deadlift 10 days after chemo i would stop. why would i stop doing something that is manageable? for me manageable means something different than the next person who has had recovered from breast cancer surgery and 11 days out of the first chemo session. i trained nearly for around 9 months prior to diagnosis. 50kg deadlift would be a different story to a competitive powerlifter who can lift triple digits in kgs, and would be different again to someone who only did walking as exercise prior to diagnosis. why are other people not to be trusted to their own intuitions and experience in something they already know? do we need to tell someone how to live their life? not usually. so why tell someone how to go through their cancer journey? i have my surgeon and oncologist's approval and support for powerlifting before, during and after chemo, and i have the utter wonderful and strong support from the fitness community groups. why must i be told like an idiot that i am doing the wrong thing for my body? why tell me that i am not doing what i should be doing? with all the new realisations in the medical field that building stamina, strength and muscle can help to improve the lives of people with cancer even during treatment, and that these increases in fitness and muscle can trigger lots of previously unknown properties for the body to heal itself, generate more energy and stamina to better handle treatment, why is that exercise and strength training is so frowned upon by the standards of 30 years ago? maybe we do not have that much information on the subject but at least what we do know 100% for sure is that even if you don't have cancer, and you did no exercise, and no resistance training, that your body will function very very differently than someone who does regular cardiovascular as well as strength training. you add muscle bone and energy killing chemotherapy on top of someone who doesn't exercise for months at a time, and you get far greater levels fatigue, far greater loss of strength and more difficulty regaining strength after treatment (and guess what helps combat loss of bone density, muscle mass and loss of energy? -strength training). i know that before my diagnosis if i do not exercise for 2 weeks i loose strength and stamina, i feel more fatigued and my lupus will take over and i will be more prone to simply staying in bed. why do people like myself, other fitness pursuing women and athletes who had been diagnosed with breast cancer have to feel like we cannot be supported in a group like this and other groups that advocates exercise? i want to feel like people respect my decisions to do what i need and what i want with my life, especially because i feel ok and great after what i do in terms of exercise. and i want to say to other women here who do exercise/athletic pursues, PLEASE share what you do for exercise! because the community needs to know that if someone knows their body, got doctors approval, and does exercise that makes them feel great not just physically, but mentally and that empowers them, that they should be celebrated! that they should be allowed to say and share and be proud of what they did especially whist going through cancer! you need to share your experience until it is normalised in our society. i have been made to feel so angry and ashamed because i went back to the gym when i felt ok to, during MY cancer experience, and i do not want that for anyone else. i am excited to share this with you as a last note in a couple of links. thanks for those who read and are willing to understand. https://soundcloud.com/abcnsw/resistance-training-benefits-breast-cancer-survivors http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4459555.htm <-- ABC catalyst documentary (chemo and exercise) http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0067579 <-- the exercise cancer killer cells research https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julie_Gehl/publication/294870149_Voluntary_Running_Suppresses_Tumor_Growth_through_Epinephrine-_and_IL-6-Dependent_NK_Cell_Mobilization_and_Redistribution/links/56e954d408aecf036b315403.pdf <-- how killer cells work on tumors 2016 researchYWCA Encore - Hunter region
Hi there, We're running the Encore program again next month at Valentine & Waratah. We still have spots available, we'd love for you to join us. Now is the time to enrol! YWCA Encore is a FREE 8 week program designed specifically for women who have experienced breast cancer, or currently experiencing breast cancer, to improve and retain mobility and flexibility in the upper limbs, confidence and general wellbeing. Contact us: encore@ywcahunterregion.org.au / 02 4929 2954 / 0421880321. More info and enrolment forms are available here: www.ywcahunterregion.org.au/encore ; Thanks Natalie, YWCA Hunter Region Inc.
post op exercise question?
Hello all, I have a question, I have also emailed this off to my bc nurse, however they are busy and can not get back to me for a few days, so I thought I would ask here for a general idea, I was diagnosed on the 14.12.2022, today I have had my PPET-CT Scan, yuck, what an ordeal, If that is all good for my surgeon, I'm booked for next Friday for the lump removal. I understand everyone journey is personal to them and everyone's cancer is different from the person beside them. However as a general idea, once surgery is over, I need to get back to exercise, I enjoy my yoga, but am also looking at adding walking laps in a pool with my adult son, after he torn his ACL on our family holiday last week down in TAS, (that's a hole another nightmare of a story, he went face first down Cataract Gorge in Launceston) As he can not drive, I am planning on driving him to the pools when he can start his recovery treatment, so I was thinking I should also get in the pool and start off with light exercise. Has anyone done any form of aqua exercise, I know I have to have radiotherapy after the surgery, again I'm not a wear for what length of time, is is safe to go in pools, I live over an hour away from the beach, so that would be out of the question. Thanks for your time Cheer's
Encore Program in Queensland
Hi I am the Queensland and Northern Territory coordinator for the YWCA Encore Program. I just wanted to let anyone know who is looking for a program, we still have availability in our Term 4 Brisbane, Toowoomba and Townsville programs. Please visit www.ywcaencore.org.au for days, times, locations and to register.
Ex-Med Exercise (Melbournians only)
I did the Ex-Med programme last year in their trial phase. Yesterday I received an email saying they were up and running and open to anyone who's had cancer. We don't have the Encore programme in Victoria, and while we have to pay for this one, I can thoroughly recommend it for post-active treatment strength and fitness training. Several members of the forum have done it and loved it. From the email: "EX-MED Cancer is the result of years of scientific research, refined by extensive consultation with cancer patients and health professionals. EX-MED Cancer helps people with cancer participate in targeted exercise medicine specifically designed to counteract the negative effects of their cancer and its treatment. This allows people with cancer to exercise safely and effectively – minimising any risk of side effects and maximising benefits to their health and wellbeing. WHO IS EX-MED CANCER FOR? EX-MED Cancer is now open to all people with cancer. Cancer patients with any type and stage or cancer, at any point before, during or after treatment are eligible to participate. The program is tailored to each person’s individual needs based on their type and stage of cancer, the treatments they have had, are receiving and/or will receive, any side-effects they are experiencing, their overall health status and their physical ability. People who have already participated in EX-MED Cancer are very welcome to participate again as many times as they wish. WHAT DO PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE? All EX-MED Cancer participants receive an individualised cancer-specific exercise prescription that is personalised to their unique needs. Participants receive a 4-month structured, supervised, program delivered by cancer specialist exercise physiologists in community-based exercise facilities (i.e. local gyms and leisure centres close to patients home or work). Participants receive 3 x 1 hour individual sessions, 36 x 1 hour group-based sessions and a 4-month gym membership. Participants also receive a personalised plan for their ongoing exercise program after the program has finished. WHAT BENEFITS CAN YOU EXPECT? Based on our Victorian Government funded evaluation of over 200 cancer patients, participants in EX-MED Cancer should expect a 20% improvement in physical function; 17% reduction in cancer-related fatigue; 10% reduction in distress, depression and anxiety symptoms; and a 15% improvement in quality of life among other benefits. No injuries or negative side effects occurred to any of the 200 participants previously involved and only 10% of people could not complete the program due to illness. Despite being reluctant to start exercising, participants attended ~85% of the ~40 exercise sessions throughout the 4 month program. After finishing EX-MED Cancer, people with cancer described profound changes to their lives, not just to their physical and mental wellbeing, but also to their ability to move past cancer and re-engage more fully in all aspects of their life. WHERE IS EX-MED CANCER DELIVERED? EX-MED Cancer is currently operating out of 5 locations throughout Melbourne: 1. CBD 2. Coburg 3. Hawthorn 4. Caulfield 5. Sunshine We aim to open more locations in metropolitan and regional areas as soon as possible. HOW MUCH DOES EX-MED CANCER COST? As a not-for-profit organisation we are committed to keeping costs as low as possible to help as many people as possible to have access to best practice exercise medicine. The fee is ~$30 per week for 4 months which equates to a total cost of $500. This cost is over 60% cheaper than industry standard rates. HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE? Anyone with cancer can register to participate in EX-MED Cancer by contacting our team using any of the following options: Website – www.exmedcancer.org.au/enrol-or-refer Email – exmedcancer@exmedcancer.org.au Phone – 1300 EX-MED Cancer (1300 396 332) Text Message – 0421 943 875 There is no waitlist involved with EX-MED Cancer. As soon as you register your interest we will contact you to answer any questions you may have and initiate the process for starting your individually tailored exercise program."
Fear of exercise
dear ladies, I was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 years ago. I went through chemo, double mastectomy and reconstruction with implants all in 2 years n finally my body n my mind is feeling ready to start to live again as before ... but all those ideas r bombarding my mind of what to do n what not to do in order not to damage myself I would love to do boxing (I need to get some relief n punching a bag I guess is the go hehehe) but would I be able to do it? Any of you have done it? what are the NOs in terms of exercise that I need to avoid?? i only know that planks r out but the rest??? Please , let me know your experiences love and regards
Exercise
hello all, i started my 5 week course of radiation for breast cancer yesterday, and would like to try and continue my regular walking program during this time if it’s possible. I’d like to hear of others experiences of fatigue, and what it might be realistic to expect to be able to do. I’m also have a small problem finding the right bra to wear for walking- I have had breast conserving surgery, and thus have one breast smaller then the other, and don’t want the wound site on my affected breast to rub when walking.... I wondered about using the wool sold to prevent blisters in my bra ..... sounds a bit funny, but I have tried soft muslin and it still rubs... but I would love to hear from others about how they have managed this....thank you, and I wish you all well on your individual journeys. Ulli
Encore Launceston is looking for new participants for Program commencing 12th Feb
Encore Launceston Hello All, We are looking for new participants for our next Encore program commences on February 12 until April 2, from 5.30-7.30pm. If you are interested or know anyone who might be interested please contact me.
