Columbia Association awarded grant to bolster fitness for those impacted by cancer

Mounting evidence for years has shown that exercise can make a difference for cancer patients.

Not only patients, though, but also cancer survivors.

With the help of a national grant, the Columbia Association now has staff trained to help those impacted by cancer stay fit.

Exercise oncology support

The Columbia Association was one of ten organizations to get an Exercise Oncology Grant from the Health & Fitness Association.

The grant pays for the organizations to train staff in exercise oncology, to develop or expand programs to help those who have had, or survived cancer.

CA got $4,800 from the grant. It's meant to train at least three staff members to get an exercise oncology credential.

All of the grants are funded by the American Cancer Society.

Selected staff will participate in three facilitated learning sessions and receive a best practices guide, according to HFA's announcement of the grants. 

Meeting people where they're at

Fitness hasn't always been Joe Richard Saunders's top priority.

But things changed with his first cancer diagnosis. Saunders's journey started in 2023 with back pain, he said doctors couldn't figure it out at first.

"My lung collapsed and I ended up in the ER," Saunders recalled.

He ended up having stage 4 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. He had surgery to remove it under the recommendation of his doctors.

Not long after that, though, Saunders was diagnosed with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. He had a bone marrow transplant and has been in remission since 2024.

Saunders said one of his doctors said his commitment to exercise helped.

"My doctor kind of flipped the script around and [said] 'You gave youself the best odds going into this fight with cancer,'" he said.

CA personal trainer Steve Madewell is also a cancer survivor. He has made it his mission to share the benefits exercise can have at any point of one's cancer journey.

When Madewell learned about CA getting one of HFA's grants, he signed up for the training right away.

A big benefit from the training, Madewell said, is learning more about the different types of cancers and their effects on the body.

It's helped him learn more red flags and other signs to look out for in people impacted by cancer.

"If anyone has bone metastases, they should not be lifting heavy because you don't wanna injure their bones. That's one case," Madewell said.

He adds he learned more about virtual personal training and how to be prepared for a broad range of exercises.

Madewell said it can make a big difference having a personal trainer who has not only been through a cancer diagnosis, but also has seen the other side of one.

"I would've absolutely loved having a trainer that I could meet with and that I could unload on. I could vent to," he said.

Having something like this so close to home means the world to Saunders.

"[The fact someone like Steve can go] I can meet you where you're at and then go from there, to me that's amazing," Saunders said.