YMCA group fosters community for cancer patients
Aug. 13—A YMCA program that provides a space for cancer patients to work on both physical and mental health is continuing to make an impact in the community as the group expands.
Jeff Penland received the diagnosis no one wants to receive on Feb. 23, 2018. It was cancer, follicular lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
After his two-year battle to survive, a program came to the YMCA that fostered a community of people who had been through a similar fight.
The 12-week Livestrong program works with cancer patients to help them regain their physical strength while also emphasizing the importance of prioritizing mental and emotional health.
Penland went through 12 rounds of chemotherapy and endured long-term hospital stays over the course of the next two years. Amid it all, he met the director of the local YMCA and learned about the message behind the program.
"It helped me get started back on getting myself in a better physical condition and mental condition as well," Penland said. "It had a wide variety of types of exercise and fitness that they took us through, and a lot of education about the effects of cancer, the different stages of recovery and nutrition as well."
Penland signed up for the first session of the program in April of 2022. After years of surviving being the only thought on his mind, he was ready to focus on his health in a different way.
"I was at a point where I was ready to get started back improving my physical condition because it takes a lot out of you," Penland said. "No matter if it's the cancer I had, or brain cancer, liver cancer ... I've seen a lot of people not survive cancer, so it's good to have programs like Livestrong to help people get back on their feet."
YMCA instructor Linda McNeiley said those that participate in Livestrong transform in many ways over the course of the program.
"We've seen so many people improve their self-confidence and it even impacts the way they carry themselves, and the way that they want to continue in their exercise experience after the 12 weeks," McNeiley said.
Classes consist of guest speakers, workout circuits, group shares and educational presentations. Physical strength and mobility is one thing instructors focus on, but the ability to be in a space and find relatability with others on one of the most sensitive experiences is another healing component.
"It's not all pilates and working out, you know," Penland said. "It's a lot of sitting around a room like this and sharing the experiences and that, that goes a long way to the healthy recovery."
Even after his session ended, Penland was able to connect with participants through other sessions of Livestrong. He credits the YMCA to intermingling and prioritizing this community for these individuals.
Those that sign up for a session are encouraged and able to bring one caregiver partner to go through the program with them. Penland had his wife join him through his session and said it's an added benefit as it acted, at least for him, as an accountability partner.
"You become very emotional about your story and and what you went through and being able to survive it," Penland said. "Livestrong provides that for you, that peer support to help you understand that you're not alone."
Livestrong impacted Penland so strongly that he and his family renewed their membership at the YMCA.
YMCA's nationwide Livestrong program has been available for cancer patients in St. Joseph since April 2022. A new session began at the YMCA on Aug. 8, and a waitlist is currently growing ahead of the next session. A date for the next program has not yet been set.
Stef Manchen can be reached at stef.manchen@newspressnow.com.
