LiveSTRONG at the Wallingford Family YMCA - A Look Back in Time

When the Wallingford Family YMCA launched its LiveSTRONG Program for cancer survivors in the Fall of 2011, we knew it would be of value to survivors, but we weren’t prepared for the full impact it would have. “LiveSTRONG was a game-changer,” according to Sean Doherty, Executive Director. The focus group met in October 2011, and the Y staff had a plan going into that initial meeting. We had a list of questions, but as the conversation began, the survivors at the table took over and the room came to life. As we asked the survivors to share a bit of information about themselves, they discovered commonalities, from shared doctors to shared pain. The bond between the members of this initial group had already started to form, and it grew tremendously as they worked together throughout our first full LiveSTRONG session.

LiveSTRONG at the YMCA focuses on the survivor – the whole person, not the disease. The free, 12-week program meets twice a week, with two specially trained instructors for twelve participants. Traditional exercise methods ease the individual back into fitness, with a focus on building strength, increasing flexibility & endurance, improving confidence & self-esteem, learning stress reduction techniques and more. This is LiveSTRONG in a nutshell, but the program goes well beyond what can be shared in a quick description.

During that first session, one survivor came to us after the first class and said, “I’m not sure this class is for me. I don’t feel as if I fit in.” We asked her to be patient, to just give it a try, and she returned. After a few classes, she didn’t show up, so we called her. She told us that she needed help just getting out of bed, getting out of the house. The cancer had triggered depression, and she needed help that extended beyond exercise, so we kept calling, and she kept coming in. Week after week she battled through, and at the end of the session, she graduated with a smile on her face. For years, she stayed with the YMCA and maintained a healthy lifestyle. When her cancer came back, she fought it successfully and returned to the Y when able. She told me one day that if it weren’t for the Y, she didn’t think she would have survived.

This is just one story from one survivor. Over the years, we have helped over 300 participants regain their strength after battling this disease, and the impact that this program has had on survivors, on instructors, and on the Y, has been truly remarkable. Definitely a game-changer.