Cancer can take away many things, but it doesn’t have to take your passion for fitness. These five survivors show that you can stay fit after and even during your cancer battle.
Battling cancer takes an immense physical toll on your body: many survivors remember losing both fat and muscle, overwhelming fatigue, and nausea that made daily tasks, let alone tough workouts, difficult.
Read MoreLinn Lowes Got in Shape After Fighting Lymphoma
Swedish fitness influencer Linn Lowes may be best known for her millions of Instagram followers and daily workout videos. What many may not know is that, while she has always been active, she only fell in love with working out after being diagnosed with lymphoma at only 26.View this post on Instagram
“Being diagnosed with cancer totally threw me under the bus. I hated my body so much, and the situation I were in,” she shared in a heartfelt Instagram post.
Chemotherapy and radiation took its toll on her, making her lose the muscles she had worked so hard to gain. She was devastated – until she decided to fight to get her old body (and life) back.
“After a few devastating weeks I pulled myself together and said; HEY! This needs to change – and the only one who can do that is ME myself and I. I started going to the gym with that damn itchy wig, but I did it. And I’m so thankful for that today!
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Today, seven years after beating lymphoma, she’s shares her passion for fitness with millions of people around the world, a powerful message to survivors that you can do much more than just survive cancer.
Matt Ode’s Determination Helped Him Get Fit Again
During his fight with stage three testicular cancer, Matt Ode was put through the physical wringer. He went into a coma for nearly two weeks, experienced liver and kidney failure, and lost 70 pounds in only eight months.
Related: 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer
The journey back to normalcy was a long one, but Matt knew that patience and dedication to his fitness goals would get him where he wanted to be.
"You need to be patient, but you need to have a purpose in life and just take small actions to get there," Ode previously told SurvivorNet. "You will get to where you want to be you just need to be determined enough and push forward."
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Bodybuilder Cheyann Shaw Learned to Love Her Post-Cancer Body
In 2016, everything was going according to Cheyann Shaw’s plan. She was engaged to the man of her dreams and had grown a cult following on Instagram for her fitness videos. Then her world was rocked by a stage four ovarian cancer diagnosis.
She soon after had chemotherapy, lost her hair, moved across the country, and had surgery to remove her appendix, spleen, reproductive organs, part of her colon, and a tumor “the size of a small beach ball.”
The treatment changed her body forever, but with time, she grew to love and appreciate herself and all that she had been through.
Related: 'I'll Swim Topless': Comedian Tig Notaro On Owning Her New Body After Double Mastectomy
“But you know what, it will no longer bother me because this body is strong,” she captioned a before-and-after photo of herself. “This body has beat stage 4B cancer before and it will do it again. I'm proud of this body, no matter how small it is or how big it is. I love this strong body of mine, just like you should love your strong body too!”
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Vera Trifunovich Danced Through Breast Cancer Battle
Dr. Ken Miller, the Director of Outpatient Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet that at least two hours of exercise per week, combined with a healthy diet, can help you in your fight against cancer.
Related: Recommendations for a Healthy Lifestyle: One Doctor's Advice for Cancer Survivors
For Vera Trifunovich, her passion for Zumba stayed constant through a challenging battle with breast cancer. Four weeks after surgery, she was back in the studio, dancing to her heart’s content.
Of course, it’s important to recognize your physical limitations when it comes to working out during cancer treatments. Your doctor might urge you to rest, or lingering side effects from treatment might make exercise difficult. But if you’re able to, exercise can be a huge help physically and mentally.
"I couldn't really move my arm yet, because I was just starting PT (physical therapy) … I remember I was just dancing, and I would just dance with one arm,” Trifunovich previously told SurvivorNet.
“Dancing was good for my body, and it was also so good for my soul. It was in those moments when I was dancing, and listening to fun music, and being with my friends, it would all melt away."
Dancing Her Way to Recovery How Zumba Helped Cancer Survivor Vera Trifunovich Cope
Michael Markiewicz, Who Beat Testicular Cancer in His Teens, Became a Fitness Model
Michael Markiewicz took up bodybuilding when he was 16, and soon after he started, he remembers feeling a sharp pain in his groin one day at the gym. A doctor told him it was only a stain, but three weeks later, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
He started chemotherapy on his 17th birthday and had three surgeries within a year. Markiewicz said that exercise was a critical outlet as he went through the difficult treatments, telling The Manual that “the mental part of the battle is just as important as the physical.”
“I'm a strong believer in exercise helping you both mentally and physically. Breaking a sweat and releasing those endorphins definitely helps put you in a more positive mood.”
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After entering remission, he’s gone on become a notable fitness model, even working with jewelry brand AWE to help cancer survivors as well as victims of domestic abuse and rape. The word “survivor” is tattoed across his midsection.
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