San Diego CA— According to the National Cancer Institute, 38.5 percent of people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime. It was once difficult to find exercise programs designed to address the specific symptoms and struggles cancer patients and survivors experience on a daily basis. To bring comprehensive and safe exercise-recovery programs to people at all stages of cancer recovery — from diagnosis and treatment to reconstruction and survivorship — the leading health and fitness nonprofit organization known for certifying exercise professionals and health coaches nationwide, American Council on Exercise (ACE), launches its first-ever Cancer Exercise Specialist program, authored by Andrea Leonard, founder and president of the Cancer Exercise Institute.
With the Cancer Exercise Specialist Program, exercise professionals and health coaches will possess the practical, hands-on skills needed to guide patients through exercise programs. The American Cancer Society notes that regular exercise may lessen the physical symptoms of cancer and address the psychological symptoms by lowering the risk of anxiety, depression – all while improving self-esteem and quality of life.
According to Leonard, proper exercise can benefit people throughout many stages of cancer recovery. After 23 years of research and development, Leonard accredits the Cancer Exercise Specialist program as the most comprehensive option available today for trainers who work with clients through any stage of cancer.
“Too many cancer patients are suffering needlessly in the aftermath of cancer surgery and treatment; unaware that a Cancer Exercise Specialist can help them to regain the strength, flexibility, and overall confidence that the disease has taken from them,” says Leonard. “This program gives health and fitness professionals the tools to empower people battling cancer to reap the full benefits of exercise and infuse their lives with a custom approach to health and fitness.”
Leonard, a world-renowned cancer exercise specialist, thyroid cancer survivor and founder and president of the Cancer Exercise Training Institute, says the journey to developing this program began when she became a personal trainer in 1995.
“My mother asked me to help her exercise as a means of recovering from breast cancer treatment. At the time, there weren’t any science-based exercise programs available, so we worked with scientists and doctors across the country to build one for her,” Leonard says.
Orange County-based ACE-certified personal trainer Tammy Salamone is an inspiring example of the power of properly administered exercise for cancer patients. After doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer in early 2017, she was prescribed a series of chemotherapy treatments and surgeries. Despite this diagnosis Salamone committed herself to showing her three daughters the power of daily movement and determination. Modifying her exercise for her circumstances, she still exercises seven days a week during chemotherapy.
“I’m still lifting weights and running, albeit much more slowly than before,” says Salamone. “Exercise has preserved the most important parts of life while I’m on this journey through cancer. I can still work with my personal training clients part-time, play with my kids, cook meals for my family and live my life.”
To learn more about the Cancer Exercise Specialist program, please click here.