Mother of 5 Exercises for Stress-Relief After Cancer Diagnosis
It is said that behind every accomplished man there is a good woman, and Theresa Munro knows behind this healthy woman is a good man, dedicated husband and hands-on father! A cancer-fighter, full-time pharmacy manager and mother of 5 children, Theresa gives a huge amount of credit for her physical and mental strength to the support and encouragement of her husband Mark.
Theresa Turned to Exercise to Take her Mind off Cancer
Diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2011, when her youngest child was not yet one year old, Theresa came to the Pavilion within a few days of her diagnosis. “I wanted to get the stress off,” she explains, “my husband researched it” and they found their way to the TriHealth Fitness and Health Pavilion. Theresa initially mostly availed herself of the Integrated Health services, “massage with Keith Kaplan and acupuncture, the massage is helpful for the lymph nodes and improving circulation and the acupuncture helped greatly with nausea and hot flashes from chemotherapy,” explains Theresa.
Eventually the entire family became Pavilion members – she says her kids all “love the Kids Life Center” - and exercise took center stage in Theresa’s visits here. “After having four children in five years I knew I had to find a way to get the weight off,” she says. “My husband was the mastermind,” of facilitating her ability to get active, “he walks with me, he fixes lunches and watches the kids” so she can make the hour drive from their Lake Waynoka home to get her workouts in. Most importantly, “my husband helps me with my outlook, we have fun and exercise together,” Theresa smiles, “he says we’ve got to live and not let this (cancer) get you down.”
Theresa Drops 51 Pounds
Attesting that she is “in better shape now than before I had cancer” Theresa has been following her doctor’s orders to “get my heart rate up” and in the process has lost 51 pounds over the course of a year. At the Pavilion, Theresa enjoys the new Octane lateral trainer among other fitness floor offerings. “My next fitness goal is to include weights and resistance training” in her routine and trying out Zumba, she adds. Theresa does not plan on slowing down, “I have to keep it up to keep that Big C away.”
The best part is in the day-to-day, functional benefits of losing weight and becoming more fit, especially when it comes to keeping up with five very active children now between the ages of 2-10! “I could barely walk a mile at first,” Theresa recalls, “within months I was up to 3, then 4 miles…and I can do the Octane trainer for an hour!” She finds in order to be successful meeting your goals “exercise has to become more integrated as a part of your day” and she works out 2-3 times a week and gets weekly massages.
For Theresa the greatest reward is “the way the kids look at me” because “I can chase the kids now,” she laughs. Keeping up with her children, being able to take a full and active part in their lives is a priceless thing which Theresa cherishes, along with the unflagging support of her “better half.”