As most of you know, my mother, father, other family members and close friends have had cancer. Having cared for and watched loved ones suffer from this disease, one of my life goals was to do whatever I could to help the healing process. This resulted in my creating the Recovery Fitness® cancer exercise program which was inspired by and is dedicated to these courageous people.
The value of adding a fitness professional to the patient’s team is finally receiving the acknowledgment that it deserves by the medical community but it can be very difficult for cancer survivors to find a credentialed trainer. That is why I partnered with NFPT to write the Cancer Recovery course. When fitness professionals take the course they will be able to help cancer survivors improve their recovery.
Cancer recovery can be a long arduous process. Cancer patients often have a difficult time recovering and develop frozen shoulder, stiffness, and numbness due to surgery and treatments. Because many of these side effects can be prevented through proper exercise, I created a series of stretches and strengthening exercises to help eliminate or minimize these side effects.
By obtaining the NFPT credential, fitness professionals learn about the physical and emotional effects of the surgery and treatments. Cancer exercise trainers can make sure that their clients understand their risk of developing lymphedema, scar tissue, cording, neuropathy, and osteoporosis. The NFPT course will enable the fitness professional to help their client better understand their physical condition so that they understand why some exercises are very helpful for them and why some exercises could be harmful. The research suggests that exercise can reduce the risk of recurrence for some cancers, which makes it more important than ever for trainers to learn how to work with this population.
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