FOR CANCER SURVIVORS | Sabine Evans

MOVEMENT IS MEDICINE

A Wellness Program For Cancer Survivors

How exercise helps you before, during, and after cancer treatment

Nobody wants to hear they have cancer. It stops you in your tracks. It alters the way you look at yourself and the world around you. It fosters an appreciation for life that wasn’t obvious before. It forces us to face a new reality. Your body is now at war with an invader, and you have two choices – give in, or join the fight.

The point is that you need to get your mind in the game to fight and fight effectively.

A diagnosis of cancer will often cause significant psychological distress that feels incapacitating. Making decisions about treatment options and the treatment itself is incapacitating both physically and mentally. It’s a time when you rely on your doctors to advocate for you and lead you through the ordeal.

Once in remission, you’re entering a new phase. Your doctors will tell you the short and long-term approaches to nutrition and exercise that you need to put in place to maximize your ability to stay healthy and maintain a good quality of life – for you and everyone else in your life.

But here’s the catch – the doctors just handed you the ball - YOU need to be your own advocate to make this happen.

One thing should be perfectly clear – regardless of how you may reassess your goals in life, the health of mind and body needs to be the priority. Without the latter, you cannot realize the former. One key to success – recognizing that mind and body are not distinct. They are codependent. If you are determined to give long term nutrition and exercise a chance, your body will respond in remarkable ways – and that in turn will reinforce your determination to keep going. You’ll see improvement in not just physical health but mental health as you feel better about yourself and see that you DO have the ability to effect positive change. It’s a recipe for ‘wellness’ that ought to be a lifelong commitment moving forward.

Please take a moment and read my general philosophy about exercise and wellness,

Movement is Medicine (MiM) - How the Program Works

This exercise/recovery program is created for patients and survivors at all stages of treatment and long into survivorship. Addressing comorbidities such as damage to the heart and lungs, osteoporosis, diabetes, and future cancers is critical for long-term survivorship. The class focuses on Lymphedema exercises, stretching, balancing, and strength training.

Program outline:

Six-week exercise/recovery online program, 12 sessions, 2 x per week, including an individual assessment

Duration: 45 min

What you need:

Computer, laptop with high-speed internet to log into Zoom
one set of dumbbells (2 or 3 lb recommended)
exercises or yoga mat
bottle water

At the time of registration, all clients must fill out and submit the health history questionnaire form and medical clearance form along with this liability release and made part of the agreement together with any documents, reports, or other information provided by the client’s physician or doctor.

MY PHILOSOPHY

Why I Started Movement is Medicine -My Personal Story

This picture captures a moment in time, one year before the passing

of my beloved sister Helena. She bravely fought breast cancer for

over two decades after being diagnosed at age 40.

She went into remission for about 10 years, yet it eventually metastasized and spread throughout her liver and body, ultimately leading to her death at 62.

The day this photo was taken, she woke up and was brimming with energy and had one wish; to climb the mountain visible from her

house window in Germany one last time.

Though she used to jog up when she was physically able to do the things she enjoyed, that day, we had to drive halfway before setting off on foot.

I didn't know that she had brought a bottle of champagne and two glasses so we could toast to this moment - our final opportunity to soak in the unparalleled view at the top of that magnificent peak and feel happy and alive.

Through my sister, I was consumed with the pain and suffering endured by those battling cancer. As a legacy for her, I wanted to make a difference for others, which is why I created Movement is Medicine, a program for cancer survivors.

It was a natural fit with my experience as a personal trainer and working as a certified coach for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

In memory of Helene, I am now a certified Cancer Exercise Specialist Advanced Qualification and invite you to talk to me about Movement is Medicine.

TESTIMONIALS

As a cardiologist specializing in cardiac care for athletes, heart failure patients, and cancer survivors, I can't stress enough the importance of physical activity to promote health and wellness for every one of us.

Wherever you are in your journey back to health, exercise will help give you strength, fitness, and confidence to feel better mentally and physically.
And as a client of Sabine's, I can personally vouch for how positively her training program impacts everyone that she trains.

~ Lili A. Barouch, MD, FACC, FAHA

Associate Professor of Medicine

Director, Sports Cardiology Program

Director, Columbia Heart Failure Clinic

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Division of Cardiology

I was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. It was tough news and required medical interventions that would save my life but likely hurt my body. After traditional treatment I arrived at a place where cancer had been defeated but my journey back to robust health had yet to begin.

With Sabine’s careful coaching and therapy, I quickly found that healing begins with movement! The joint pain and inflammation responded so quickly

to the movement that Sabine so expertly brought back to my body. Exercise was targeted to my needs and time passed in a flash as we moved to music in both 1-on-1 therapy sessions and the wonderful boxing classes. Sabine made a huge difference in a remarkably short time by bringing her unique style of joyful movement, high-energy music, and a wonderful community back into my day.

After facing cancer, my first priority for healing was to understand how mind, body, and spirit are intertwined for health. Sabine’s focus on targeting movement to build body strength and fitness while challenging the mind with sequences, patterns, healing opportunities, integrating her gentle spirit and sharing her large community of fellow seekers of abundant good health. Her community includes those looking for fitness with many of us who are healing from significant health challenges like cancer and Parkinson’s disease. My husband has also been one of Sabine’s faithful community throughout his struggle with Parkinson’s and attributes his continued mobility and fitness to the healing movement of Sabine’s therapeutic workouts.

~Lynsie Hall, MS Ed, D.D.

Please contact me to discuss the program with you!

Relevant American Cancer Society Web Pages and Articles

ACS Journals REVIEW ARTICLE – American Cancer Society nutrition and physical activity guideline for cancer survivors
March 16, 2022
Authors: Cheryl L. Rock PhD, RD, Cynthia A. Thomson PhD, RD, Kristen R. Sullivan MS, MPH, Carol L. Howe MD, MLS, Lawrence H. Kushi ScD, Bette J. Caan DrPH, Marian L. Neuhouser PhD, RD, Elisa V. Bandera MD, PhD, Ying Wang PhD, Kimberly Robien PhD, RD, Karen M. Basen-Engquist PhD, MPH, Justin C. Brown PhD, Kerry S. Courneya PhD, Tracy E. Crane PhD, RDN, David O. Garcia PhD, FACSM, Barbara L. Grant MS, RDN, CSO, FAND, Kathryn K. Hamilton MA, RDN, CSO, CDN, FAND, Sheri J. Hartman PhD, Stacey A. Kenfield ScD, Maria Elena Martinez PhD, Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt MD, MPH, Larissa Nekhlyudov MD, MPH, Linda Overholser MD, Alpa V. Patel PhD, Bernardine M. Pinto PhD, Mary E. Platek PhD, RD, CDN, Erika Rees-Punia PhD, MPH, Colleen K. Spees PhD, MEd, RD, LD, FAND, Susan M. Gapstur PhD, Marjorie L. McCullough ScD, RD