Coming back swinging after cancer

You wouldn’t have found her at any sports societies at Exeter, but now Siobhan has started a new career as a personal trainer, with the aim of one day helping people recover from cancer just as she did.

Her inspiration began when she reached a stage in her life where she needed to get on top of her weight, but just as she started her new regime, she was shocked with a diagnosis of Hodgkin Lymphoma. “A cancer diagnosis chucks everything you accept as just so – your career, your relationships, your looks – and scatters it all like a crop sprayer,” she said.

Being diagnosed with cancer isn’t easy to accept, let alone work past – but Siobhan didn’t let cancer stand in her way. “I just kept going to the gym as often as I could through treatment. It wasn’t easy, as chemo completely knocks the stuffing out of you from all sides. But I dug deep and did as much as I could.”

It was during this struggle that she realised how important fitness was to her recovery, both psychologically and physically. “I am hugely passionate about how staying active can help you face up to the largest of obstacles,” said Siobhan. “I firmly believe fitness gave me a focus to cling to through treatment and beyond. I came out of treatment in reasonable shape considering what I had been through, but I was really weak. Going to the gym is sociable and the workouts I put in there make a huge difference to my everyday life.”

After winning the battle with cancer she returned to work, but she soon realised that she had found a great passion in fitness and decided to make the bold move to leave her job and retrain. “I had a clear vision to work in cancer fitness. I‘ve spent the last 18 months becoming a personal trainer that GPs can refer patients to - but I’m currently trying to get the funding for Cancer Rehab L4 training, which would mean that I would become one of the first cancer survivors to qualify.”

Siobhan has set up her own personal training company, Can Do Fit, and has become the manager at a local gym. “I would love to hear from alumni who are interested in fitness and cancer,” she said, “And if you’re in Brighton pop in and I’ll do you a cracking deal on training!”

You can find out more about Siobhan’s story on her website www.candofit.co.uk, and you can follow her on Twitter @candofit