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September 26, 2008
Healthy workout at JCCGV
Passport to Wellness program helps cancer survivors and others.
TRUDE HUEBNER
It takes courage to lead an aquafitness class, exposing all in a swimsuit – especially if one is a breastless woman.
Adair Patterson is a breast cancer survivor who underwent a double mastectomy and now teaches aquafit at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCCGV) twice weekly. How she went from student to teacher is a story of both courage and inspiration – which makes it a perfect story for this time of year, as we take stock of our lives and prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Patterson prefers to go "commando": no prosthesis, no stuffing, just a kick-butt attitude and a desire to keep fit and help others along the path. Diagnosed with breast cancer in August of 2002, Patterson had her first mastectomy within three weeks, followed by the second mastectomy one month later. Her cancer was stage two and estrogen-receptor positive, which is more aggressive and fed by hormones. Two surgeries, chemo and radiation left her feeling tired.
"I read about the cancer recovery program offered at the Jewish community centre," she said. "Barb Downs had written Abreast in the West, a breast cancer survivor's newsletter, describing her experience and the program leader, Melanie Galloway, and I was so inspired."
A phone call to the JCCGV followed and soon Patterson was working out with Galloway in the weight room. Her oncologist had told Patterson to keep active throughout treatment. She took this advice to heart. She started in the Passport to Wellness program and eventually was sampling other fitness classes.
In the third year after treatment, Patterson realized that she was enjoying the aquafit classes and the proverbial light went on. She would certify as an instructor, still have the same number of workouts each week, and get paid for keeping fit.
"I was nervous about being in front of a class, having had a double mastectomy, but Galloway and Adrienne Fox were very encouraging and supportive, and soon I was so busy taking the Fitness Theory class and arranging the practicum hours, there was no time left for worry," laughed Patterson. She credits both Fox, the deep-water aquafit instructor at the JCCGV, and Galloway, Waterworks instructor, for building her strength and confidence over the past few years.
Passport to Wellness, offered through the JCCGV's fitness and lifestyles department, is a program that is helping survivors of breast cancer and other serious illnesses cope with changes in their physical ability, and begin the journey to wellness. (Full disclosure here. I was diagnosed with stage three, estrogen-receptor positive and HER2-positive breast cancer in 2004 and attended the Passport to Wellness program).
Supervised by Galloway, the current program evolved out of Fit for Recovery and the Cancer Recovery program in 1996. Galloway herself has a story of courage and determination. You might catch a glimpse of her charging around the JCCGV in her wheelchair.
"It was 1992, and my youngest had just started kindergarten," revealed Galloway. "I was participating in aquafit classes at Lord Byng public pool. I took the Fitness Theory course and started teaching." With a background in physiology and biology, and many years teaching in the labs at Queen's University, she knew the workings of the human body and now applied her knowledge in a new direction. Then, just as she was enjoying teaching three times a week at the JCCGV and feeling strong and proud after losing weight, she felt a terrible malaise. Post-polio syndrome (PPS) hit her full blast.
PPS is a disorder of the nervous system that affects people who had poliomyelitis as a child. While not everyone who had polio will develop PPS, those who do are confronted with muscle weakness and fatigue. There is no cure for PPS, but it can be managed with a prescriptive, consistent exercise program. Each participant in Passport to Wellness can be assured the program content has been tested on humans – Galloway is her own best client.
Participants don't have to be Jewish or JCCGV members to join Passport. "I see the excitement that [participants] are taking the first step," observed Talitha Johnston, co-ordinator of lifestyles and fitness. And she laughingly commented that no one "supervises" Galloway. Johnston outlines her health and fitness philosophy: being healthy doesn't mean not enjoying your life, it means making small steps every day that add up. Being healthy is not just about doing something once, it is about the choices you make every day.
And what about Downs, whose newsletter originally piqued Patterson's interest? She is still active in Passport. Diagnosed in 1998 with breast cancer, she underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and five years of Tamoxifen and credits Passport with giving her "a routine of exercise, which I never had in my life before. I've formed the habit now and, being retired, I build this into my lifestyle." Downs schedules around her classes, enjoying the friendships she has formed in the group.
The informal part of the Passport class takes place in the Nava café at the JCCGV, where the group meets for lunch after the noon sessions in the weight room. Some of the lunch selections meet an important criteria for breast cancer survivors – avoiding estrogen. The vegetarian soup and chili are made from scratch with no plant estrogen-containing soy product filler. Extra virgin olive oil is used in the house salad dressings. Fresh fruit and veggie cups are available on a daily basis. And you have to taste V's veggie-based lentil soup. When informed that some of the kosher offerings are healthy, Harvey Sandler, Nava's executive chef, laughed, explaining that kosher has suffered a bad rap as being loaded with fat.
According to an e-mail from a spokesperson from the Canadian Cancer Society, "Based on current knowledge, opportunities for women to reduce breast cancer risk include eating a healthy diet, being physically active, maintaining a healthy body weight, minimizing alcohol consumption and avoiding nonessential hormones."
Passport to Wellness and the JCCGV have fostered a climate that has allowed the development of a crucial plank in a wellness platform for many people. The program encourages female participants to meet four out of five of the recommendations for reducing the risk of breast cancer, and provides a supportive and constructive path to health and fitness.
Trude Huebner is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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