As she pedaled an exercise bike at Bothell’s Northshore YMCA, Denise Echelard, 49, said it is all about improving quality of life.
Among other things, for Martin Christians, 47, that meant gaining back the strength to walk without the aid of what he simply referred to as his stick.
“I have a lot more energy,” Christians said, talking about looking forward to doing the yard work he once enjoyed and returning to his job as a truck driver.
Joe Beaulieu, 63, didn’t want to say he had been depressed, but he admitted his mental state wasn’t what it had been. He also wanted to get back into outdoor activities, particularly hiking.
“It helped with both aspects, both physical and mental,” Beaulieu said of Northshore’s free, 10-week, once-a-week specialized training program, Exercise and Thrive.
Besides spending time together at the YMCA, the above trio and at least about 10 others in the private course have another experience in common, an experience they undoubtedly never wanted. All of the Exercise and Thrive participants are suffering, or have suffered, through some form of cancer. A YMCA health and wellness program coordinator, M. Connie Evans is one of the course’s two instructors.
“This isn’t just a class,” she said. “We are building a community of people … There are tears a lot of times and there are laughs a lot of times.”
A joint program of the YMCA and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Exercise and Thrive features lots of physical training, but training meant to be easy on body’s weakened by illness and chemotherapy. Evans added she wanted participants to take part in “mind exercise,” as well, bringing in yoga and tai-chi instructors.
“It’s really about encouraging them and giving them strength again,” Evans said.
At the end of the weekly program, the cancer survivors spend at least a half-hour doing nothing but talking amongst themselves. Outsiders aren’t allowed, not even spouses.
Now free of the leukemia that threatened him, Christians said he began to enjoy the physical exercise so much that as the program progressed, he started showing up at the YMCA to work out just about every day. But he also talked a lot about the social aspects of the program, about just being able to share his thoughts with others who have gone through the same experiences.
“When you’re diagnosed, you feel all sorts of things. You don’t know if they’re normal or not,” Echelard said.
Recovering from prostate cancer, Beaulieu moved here from out of state with his wife only a few months ago to be with their grandchildren. He said the couple had lived in a small town, one where everybody knew everybody. He found he missed that and enjoys the camaraderie of the YMCA.
“It’s from the heart,” he said. “It’s not just a superficial ‘Hi.’”
Ironically formally employed by Fred Hutchinson, unlike the others, Echelard is not cancer free, but has “run the course,” as she put it, regarding chemotherapy. She has stopped all conventional treatment, doesn’t flinch in discussing her condition and somehow manages to seem more upbeat than most anyone in the room. Unlike some of the others, Echelard said she long has been “adamant” about exercise and has no intention of quitting anytime soon. She had worked out twice the day of her interview.
“I’m kind of ramping it up,” she said, “because I was in pretty good shape to begin with.” Like Christians, she also talked a lot about the social aspects of the YMCA program.
“This group has been fantastic,” Echelard said. “I mean, some of these people have been through absolute hell and have come out the other side and are rebuilding.”
Echelard jokes when asked how she remains seemingly positive in the face of her condition.
“Denial is a wonderful drug,” she said, laughing. “Really, it kind of is what it is. It’s taking each moment, it’s taking each day. To do anything else is nonsense.”
The current Exercise and Thrive course is winding down. For information on future sessions, contact the Fred Hutchinson Survivorship Program at (206) 667-2814 or send an e-mail to survivor@fhcrc.org.
