While battling a cancer diagnosis and navigating treatments, keeping up with your physical health can be a challenge. Some circumstances because of cancer treatment may limit a patient’s physical abilities, causing patients to build their strength back up to overcome obstacles and daily challenges. Hunter Stafford, the Program, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator at Cancer Support Community Indiana, has seen these struggles and created a program designed to specifically help patients overcome these challenges. Hunter is also a ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and CanRehab Cancer Exercise Specialist who is passionate about providing exercise education to those we serve.

Hunter has created an eight-week program that meets with participants one-on-one to do basic exercise training. This training includes learning the fundamentals of exercise, but more importantly focuses on exercises and training that is targeted towards participants’ specific goals and needs. The program is designed to help patients feel strong and comfortable not only being in a fitness setting but also facing the insecurities that often come with working out after a cancer diagnosis or treatment. Building up motivation to exercise may not be easy, but with this program and Hunter’s guidance, participants can overcome fitness obstacles and find ways to meet their specific fitness needs.

The impact of this program helps participants to reduce the anxiety and stress from after treatment effects through individualized fitness plans and making sure patient’s feel their individual needs are addressed. When discussing her passion for this new program, Hunter said that this is another program at CSCI that can instill hope in participants, and “If I can help contribute to that, it means everything.” Participants of this new fitness program can grow and prosper through these eight weeks to become the person they want to be. Like all CSCI programming, this program is free.  To learn more about it or to see other free programming offered by CSCI, visit our calendar or contact Hunter at hunter@cancersupportindy.org.