LUMBERTON — Sheila Burke has always been active, even after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000.
“I think that keeping your brain busy and your body moving is crucial to a good survivorship,” she said.
Burke on Tuesday was one of four people to join a first-of-its-kind program that takes that theory to heart.
The Survivorship Planning and Cancer Education program, or S.P.A.C.E. program, aims to help cancer survivors make lifestyle changes needed to keep them healthy. A pilot group held the first of 24 sessions this week at Southeastern Health’s Lifestyle Fitness Center on Fayetteville Road.
“The fact that you’re here today and the fact that you’re going to be in this program is an investment in your health,” Ash Walker, manager for Southeastern Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and coordinator of the S.P.A.C.E. program, told the test group. “This team that is going to be supervising and helping you in this program is a multi-disciplinary team. We are going to provide you education and lifestyle modifications that you can use every day.”
LaDonna Booth was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. After surgery and chemotherapy, her “world got turned right side up again.” She attends water aerobics five days a week and is looking forward to adding the S.P.A.C.E. program to her exercise regimen.
Linda B. Rice was diagnosed with colon cancer and went into remission six years ago. She said that she was already participating in survivor walks that are held at the fitness center and that the workouts help her both mentally and physically.
“I had 42 radiation treatments and 12 chemo treatments,” Rice said. “I really think faith in God has a lot to do with it. He left me here for a reason.”
Walker said he was first introduced to the group approach while participating in a similar test group 10 years ago. The local program is the brainchild of Southeastern Health, the fitness center and Gibson Cancer Center.
According to Emily Parnell, manager of Medical Oncology at Gibson Cancer Center, several of the doctors at the center had been asking for a program similar to S.P.A.C.E. for several years. She said that Gibson and Southeastern Health began working on the program about two or three years ago.
“Some patients finish their treatment and say: ‘What do I do now?’ Now we can say we have an oncology rehab program,” she said. “We’ve got a waiting list of people waiting for the test group to get finished so they can get into the program.”
Each participant on Tuesday got their vitals, height and weight checked by Wayne Martin, a registered nurse with Southeastern Health. Candance Langston, a clinical exercise physiologist with Southeastern Health, led the group in a workout.
Langston gave each participant a resistance band and the group warmed up with strength training stretches while she talked about the importance of training muscles. The group then used the treadmills and stationary bikes before finishing off the session with a few laps walking around the indoor track.
“With cancer patients, the toll that not only the cancer but the chemo takes on them is the fatigue. When they’re done with their chemo treatments, they’re exhausted. One of the No. 1 killers of cancer survivors is heart disease,” Langston said. “Getting them on a regular exercise routine that incorporates cardiovascular and strength training is not only going to reduce their risk of having future health problems, but it’s also going to improve their mood, their fatigue levels and their outlook on life.”
“It’s not a cure, it’s not a guarantee, but it’s better than whatever is in second place,” Walker said.
The program will likely have a cost associated with it eventually, but Walker said it would be affordable. In future sessions, the S.P.A.C.E. program will be open to patients both in remission and battling the disease. Future sessions will also include lessons from Celeste Guillot, a dietitian.
The program is considering adding a few more cancer survivors to the pilot group. For information, contact Southeastern Lifestyle Center for Fitness and Rehabilitation at 910-738-9787. The group meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m.
