Peloton Instructor Leanne Hainsby Describes Breast Cancer Journey: 'It's Been a Tough Year'

"So many Peloton members are going through their own struggles, and if they can make it to the bike, then so can I," says Leanne Hainsby of teaching classes while going through chemo

Leanne Hainsby remembers the exact moment she felt the lump in her breast in July of 2022.

"It was 5 a.m, on a boiling hot day in London, and I couldn't sleep," the Peloton instructor tells PEOPLE exclusively. "It was two days before my best friend's funeral and I was really anxious, and really hot. As I threw the covers off of me, my hand just grazed my left breast. And I felt a very obvious lump."

She jumped out of bed and woke her fiancé, fellow Peloton instructor Ben Alldis. He tried to keep her calm for the rest of the morning while she waited for her doctor's appointment. But Hainsby had a feeling something was wrong: "I think I knew in my gut, the second I found the lump, that it was breast cancer."

Having been a professional dancer for 12 years before joining Peloton, Hainsby prided herself on being in tune with her body. She'd been performing since she was 3 years old. "Knowing and understanding my body is such a huge part of who I am," she says. "I thought, how could I have missed this?"

Related:Peloton Instructor Leanne Hainsby, 35, Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis in Instagram Post

Her doctor first thought the lump was a hormonal cyst since it was moving around under the skin, and most tumors don't. "With the trauma of losing my best friend so suddenly and the stress on my body that came with that, it made sense that maybe my hormones would be all over the place," Hainsby recalls. Her doctor advised her to wait 28 days, roughly a menstrual cycle, to see if the lump would go way.

"I got through the funeral and then Ben and I went on holiday for a week. And the whole time I was feeling for the lump. It wasn't changing in size, but it was most definitely there. And my anxiety was just increasing and increasing."

Related:Leanne Hainsby Says Her Mindset During Breast Cancer Treatment 'Is Totally Within My Control'

As soon as she got back, she went to see her doctor again and was sent to a breast cancer clinic. "I feel super lucky to have been able to do that because things have moved really quickly for me," she says, adding that she realizes many people don't have such access to care. Two mammograms were ordered, and it was quickly determined that she did not have a cyst.

Her official diagnosis of early triple positive breast cancer came on August 26, 2023. "It actually wasn't the worst day of my life," she says. "Losing my best friend was the worst day of my life, but this was the most shocked I've ever been. She remembers sitting next to her mom and Alldis at the breast clinic when she got the news, and feeling upset for them. "When it's happening to you, you're actually worried about everybody else around you at that time," she explains.

Although the diagnosis was incredibly upsetting, Hainsby didn't spend time asking why someone as young and as healthy as herself would get breast cancer. "It's just bad luck," says Hainsby, who has no family history of breast cancer. Her genetic tests also came back negative, indicating no predisposition to various types of cancers. "It's just one of those things."

Before starting chemo in September, she and Alldis had a chance to do a round of IVF. "I felt really lucky that I was granted this window of being able to do one round of IVF, and to hope that something could come out of that, which it did," she says. "For some couples, IVF will be the biggest thing that they ever do, but for us, IVF was something that we had to just get done before we went into the biggest thing that we'll ever do."

Her chemo treatment was 12 weeks long, and for most of that time she continued teaching 3-4 Peloton classes a week. None of the members knew about her condition. "I feel so proud of myself that I continued to show up," she says. "And it wasn't because I wanted people to say, wow, isn't she amazing for doing this? It was because there are so many members that are going through their own struggles — and if they can make it to the bike, then so can I."

For Hainsby, continuing to teach and be immersed in the Peloton community had a positive impact — "my sparkly moment of the day"— especially as her body changed. "I ended up losing 50% of my hair, and all of my eyelashes and eyebrows. Every week I was feeling less and less like myself," she says. "So I really valued having one moment a few times a week where I could just give it my all. And that gave me an energy boost and a mood boost. That feeling of community helped me to feel strong."

In January she had a lumpectomy, followed by radiotherapy. When she went public on Jan. 27 with her news, she couldn't believe the reaction. "I was so surprised that people were so surprised when I shared my news, because to me, the change in myself was so obvious. But I think when you make people feel something about themselves, they don't care whether you look great or not, they just focus on how you make them feel."

Related:Leanne Hainsby Discusses 'One of the Cruelest Parts' of Cancer Treatment

She credits Alldis and her mom for helping her get though the worst days. "I think it is harder for the people around you, for the people that love you," she says. "My mum every single week sat with me in my pod whilst I was having chemo, and Ben has been incredible. The support takes its toll on them as well. Those who surround you are trying to keep a brave face."

In early April, Hainsby had her 3-month checkup and was given the all-clear. "It was a really big milestone that I was feeling really anxious about, and it was really great news." Now she hopes her story can help others. She advises fans to "check and check and check again", to self-advocate and to take care of their bodies. "Being fit for life, I felt like I was in a strong place to take on chemo. It's really important to understand your body, to get to know your body."

While she and Alldis have had to delay their family planning, they have been able to add to their brood in another way: "We got a puppy, so that extra love that we felt we wanted to give is going there," she says, laughing. "But my whole perspective on life is different. We're taking this moment and making sure that we're okay. It's been a tough year. I think it's important that we get ourselves back on track before we start thinking about bringing anyone else into that."

In the meantime, they are taking things "very slow and kind and patient" while she continues to heal and regain her strength.

"For me to be able to get better just felt like such a privilege," she says. "I remember a cancer nurse saying to me: Those things that you think about now will become so irrelevant even six weeks down the line. I wish I could pass on that knowledge: All the things that we think are important — hair, boobs, looks — when it really comes down to it, they're just… not."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.