The Need for Support Doesn’t End After Cancer Treatment

Support for cancer

Cancer is a physical, mental, and emotional roller coaster—and it doesn’t come to a screeching halt once treatment ends. In fact, life after treatment can be one of the most challenging times for individuals diagnosed with cancer. Cancer treatments and therapies can have long-term effects on the body. Often, it takes time, adjustment, and conditioning to adapt and recover after treatment. Survivor Fitness was founded so that no cancer survivor would have to navigate post-treatment recovery alone. 

In light of ALL the challenges that cancer survivors face, it’s important to find support for life after treatment. Relying on your family, friends, co-workers, and community is just as important after treatment as it was during it. Whether you’re a cancer survivor or looking to support a loved one, we wanted to use this article as an opportunity to highlight different types of support that make a difference in the lives of individuals after cancer treatment.  

Emotional Support

Recovering from cancer treatment isn’t just about your body. It’s also about healing your mind. Find practitioners, friends, and family, who can be there for you as you process emotions and plan for the future. Remember you are not alone on this journey. 

Support To Build a Healthy Body Image 

If cancer affected your physical well-being, it’s important to realize you may struggle to accept your new appearance. Try not to underestimate how impactful that might be to your recovery. It’s important to be able to talk through those frustrations with people you love and recognize what may or may not be in your ability to control. 

Support for Navigating the “New Normal” 

There are dozens of changes that you experience during and after cancer treatment. In addition to the physical and emotional changes, there’s also the reality of navigating life after cancer. How do you spend your time now that you don’t have appointments? How might your healing impact your capacity to work and play? These are all challenging questions to answer.

Finding people who understand the impact that cancer has on the “intangible” factors of life can be helpful in finding your place in the various roles and responsibilities you have. 

Nutritional and Physical Support 

Most cancer survivors deal with changes to their diet and exercise routines after treatment. Some want to lose weight that was gained during treatment. Others want to simply be able to walk upstairs again without difficulty. Whatever your health goals might be, it’s helpful to rely on loved ones who recognize the impact that treatment had on your body and can help you take the next steps to regain your strength and stamina. 

Don’t Walk Your Post-Treatment Road Alone

At Survivor Fitness, we like to say that beating cancer is just the beginning of your story. If you’re a cancer survivor located in the Tennessee area, we can walk alongside you to progress your post-treatment recovery, empowering you to take control of your healing journey. You can read stories from other survivors to learn how they managed life after cancer or connect with our team to learn how to get started with our program.

Survivor Fitness Needs Your Help this Giving Tuesday

It’s officially the giving time of year, and to be honest, it’s one of our favorites. Not only is it a season of kindness and gratitude, but it also gives us even more of an opportunity to share why we are passionate about it, and how others can support our mission. Giving Tuesday is November 30, and Survivor Fitness has an ambitious goal. We want to provide 400 training sessions for cancer survivors, for free. And we need your help.

What Is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity, sharing influence, resources, money, advocacy, time for nonprofits. It’s a dedicated day that encourages individuals to contribute their efforts to their local communities and or causes and charities that they admire. For Survivor Fitness, this is a day to inspire cancer survivors and help transform their lives.

Why You Should Support Survivor Fitness

Cancer hits close to home for many of us. Survivors can feel scared, alone, and hopeless—we’re here to give them support, encouragement, and confidence. This year, we’ll provide survivors with more than 2,000 training sessions and close to 200 sessions with a registered dietitian. We strive for post-treatment individuals to return to hopeful and empowered lives.

How You Can Help Us Reach Our Goal

In order to reach our 400 training session goal, we need to raise $7,500 and have that money matched.

Below are ways that you can support today or on November 30:

  • Donate towards our goal
  • Share this blog on your social media channels
  • Help us grow the Survivor Fitness community 
  • Email our website to friends or family members who are committed to our cause

The Power of Your Donation

With as little as $35, your donation provides one training session for a cancer survivor. Your support helps us give cancer survivors a new outlook on life, a healthy physical and mental health journey, and assurance that they can reach their goals. Cancer survivors go through immense exhaustion, financial hardships, and terribly low times. These individuals deserve to connect to resources that can help reclaim their wellness. And you can help.

Ready to Support Survivor Fitness on Giving Tuesday?

We are incredibly thankful for the support we receive and the clients we are lucky enough to serve. With your help this Giving Tuesday, you can contribute to helping cancer survivors take control of their lives and experience life in a bright new way. Support us today and positively change the lives of local survivors.

25 Affirmations for When You’re Feeling Down

hands-open-holding-small-flower

Do you need a little “pick-me-up” today? When you’re feeling down, affirmations can help you replace negative ideas about yourself or your life with more hopeful and positive thoughts. To give you inspiration for affirmations that may work for you, we’ve shared our thoughts on this practice, along with 25 phrases that will help you divert your mindset to hopeful and calm. 

Why Affirmations? 

Here’s a question: Can you simply think yourself into a positive mindset? In a way, yes! By replacing your negative thoughts with positive ones and imagining good feelings, you can boost your mood and change your thought patterns. It might feel a little silly to talk to yourself, especially with phrases that may seem obvious, but when you try it, you’ll likely notice your mood changing. Choose the affirmations that resonate with you the most, and try saying them to yourself whenever you’re feeling down. Have one that works best for you? Put it somewhere you can see it every day. 

Repeat These Affirmations When You’re Feeling Down

  1. It’s okay to slow down and rest. 
  2. I am safe. 
  3. I am resilient, and I will make it through. 
  4. I have the power to change my life. 
  5. I can achieve anything I set my mind to. 
  6. One bad moment doesn’t mean a bad day. 
  7. I am so much more than my struggle.
  8. I am grateful for everything I have. 
  9. I am enough. 
  10. I am not broken. 
  11. This feeling will not last forever. 
  12. I deserve happiness.
  13. My loved ones value me. 
  14. I do not need to prove my worth to be loved.
  15. I love myself unconditionally. 
  16. I am proud of myself for everything I’ve overcome. 
  17. My bad days don’t define my life. 
  18. I am worthy even when I can’t see it myself. 
  19. My negative thoughts about myself are not facts. 
  20. There is no limit to the joy I can feel in my life. 
  21. I give myself permission to fully experience these emotions. 
  22. I’m on my way to becoming the best version of myself. 
  23. I forgive myself for anything I’m holding onto. 
  24. I am an open channel for happiness. 
  25. I honor myself and my strengths. 

We invite you to choose the affirmations that resonate with you, or even come up with your own! Of course, each person’s experience is different, so you may try writing a list of phrases that make you feel hopeful, and set a time every day to read them out loud to yourself.

Are You a Cancer Survivor?

Survivor Fitness works with cancer survivors to help them regain their health and wellness through one-on-one personal training and nutritional support. We walk alongside you to progress your post-treatment recovery, empowering you to take control of your healing journey. Connect with us today to learn more!

How to Support Friends Who Have Been Diagnosed with Cancer

Hearing that a friend has been diagnosed with cancer can leave you at a loss for words. Your first reaction may be to send food or flowers, or to call and visit. You may not know what to say or do to let them know you’re there. 

It’s perfectly normal to be unsure of what to do when you know that your friend is in pain. If you’ve found yourself feeling this way, here are a few things you can do to support a friend who has recently received a cancer diagnosis. 

Prepare Yourself Beforehand

This news can be terribly upsetting and overwhelming for loved ones, so it’s important to make sure that you process those feelings before visiting so that you can be there for your friend. You can also spend this time learning about their diagnosis and simply reaching out to let them know you’re there for them before taking any action.

Be Aware of Your Friend’s Conversational Cues

How a person chooses to communicate about their illness is a very personal decision. They may find it therapeutic to talk about their fears, challenges, and frustrations with their cancer diagnosis. However, you might also find that they want to talk about anything but illness. Let your friend know that you are there for them if they ever want to talk, but let them lead the way as they determine for themselves how much or how little they want to discuss it. 

Try your best not to treat them differently than you would have before. Being compassionate and supportive doesn’t mean that you can’t laugh and share fun stories. In the same way, don’t shy away from uncomfortable topics and sad feelings. Let your friend vent and explore those feelings as they need to.

Ask Before Sending Food

People love sending food to comfort their loved ones, but keep in mind that your friend may be following a special diet that is recommended by their doctor. If you do want to make something for them, ask if they have any special requests or if they have foods they would prefer. You might consider other gifts to brighten their day, such as flowers, a homemade craft, or a book you know they’ll love.

Consider the Needs of Caregivers 

When considering what you can do for your friend, also consider how their loved ones and caregivers are feeling. It can be stressful and emotionally straining to take care of someone you love who is in physical and emotional pain. You can acknowledge a caregiver’s feelings by asking them how they’re doing and giving them space to talk about it. You might also consider bringing them something to cheer them up when everything feels a little overwhelming.

Support them After their Diagnosis

A cancer diagnosis can lead to that person’s friends and family offering an overwhelming amount of support at the beginning that will then dwindle over time. Your friend will need consistent compassion throughout the entire process, even during recovery. Cancer can heavily impact a person’s emotional and physical being during every stage of the process—keep being there for them even after the well-wishes have slowed down.

Do You Know a Cancer Survivor? 

Survivor Fitness works with cancer survivors to help them regain their health and wellness through one-on-one personal training and nutritional support. We walk alongside you to progress your post-treatment recovery, empowering you to take control of your healing journey. Connect with us today to learn more!