Surfing helped me beat breast cancer”
Gone are the days when cancer patients were instructed to lie down and rest. Research shows exercise can help lessen the side effects of meds, reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and even improve the efficacy of therapies. Lucy Brown, 41, a holiday home manager from Margaret River, WA, says surfing was her lifeline during her breast cancer treatment.
“I was breastfeeding my 14-month-old son, Kai, when I found a lump. My doctor thought it was a blocked milk duct, but it turned out to be a bit more sinister, and I was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive breast cancer. I started treatment very quickly – I had two surgeries, eight cycles of chemotherapy and 30 rounds of radiotherapy. The message from all the medical professionals was really clear: it was to keep moving. So that’s exactly what I did. I did Pilates every day and I used the cross-trainer twice a week. But surfing was the main thing I did – I was back out in the ocean four weeks post-surgery. It’s really good cardiovascular exercise and so much fun! The sea is my happy place. There are no distractions, like phones or internet. You can just be present and focus on catching the next wave.
Surfing definitely helped me forget about the rigours of treatment. On chemotherapy days, because I have a horrible phobia of needles, I could zone out while the nurses were putting the cannula in and just think about all the waves I’d caught that morning. And I surfed every day throughout radiotherapy.
The nurses recommended salt compresses to reduce inflammation and relieve the burns, and I think the ocean had the same healing effect, because I had a really mild skin reaction.
You’ve got to listen to your body, I believe, so on days when I had low energy after chemo, I surfed smaller waves and had shorter sessions, but I’d still get out there and it was so invigorating. I’m now on tamoxifen hormone therapy and that’s taken a bit of adjusting to – the side effects include mood swings, hot flushes and weight gain. But I think physical activity has really helped manage that. Long term, I’m aiming to keep up the exercise and stay fit for life.”