Meet the Zumba instructor raising money for breast cancer research at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia
Doctors say one of the best ways to fight cancer is with exercise, and a growing number of people are surviving because of better treatments.
Carol Fee, 74, is full of energy, teaching a Zumba class in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
"When you're dancing, there's nothing else in your head except the dancing," she said. "All of your life's problems are left at the door."
Fee decided to become a Zumba instructor after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago.
"It was just a really scary time," Fee said.
After surviving surgery, radiation and chemo, Fee is now supporting other women in the class who've had breast cancer.
"It makes me alive again," Stacy Forman, a breast cancer patient, said. "I feel really comfortable, like dancing with these women."
Exercise is known to reduce the risk of a recurrence of breast cancer.
"I think it's good for both mental and physical health separately, so I always tell people to use breast cancer as their excuse to exercise," Dr. Amy Clark, of Penn Medicine, said.
Clark is Fee's oncologist and will be part of the upcoming Dance to Beat Breast Cancer, a fundraiser to support research at Penn.
"It's wonderful," Clark said. "It's really touching that she is willing to do this."
Since starting the dance event nine years ago, Fee has helped raise about $50,000 for Penn and she's grateful for the care she received there.
"I always wanted to give back, and Zumba is a great way to do it," she said. "The Zumba community is a wonderful community. Lots of love and joy."