1/30/2008
Hot Yoga helps with cancer
It was July 17th and another beautiful Kirkland evening, with my car window down and radio on I strolled through the streets of Kirkland enjoying another long summer night. I was nearly to my final destination when my phone rang, I reached over and turned the radio down and greeted the caller with a friendly Hello! The voice on the other end of the phone calmly asked is this Trevor Biggs and I replied Yes, Hi this is Dr. Moore and I have some unfortunate news for you...You have stage 4 Follicular Non–Hodgkins Lymphoma. I was now officially a cancer patient! I had little time to waste as he explained my entire lymphatic system was infected and the cancer had spread to my spleen, chest cavity, abdomen and worst off it was occupying over 95% of my bone marrow. I could hardly believe what I had heard and was trying my hardest to digest all the information that was just delivered via phone. I remember pulling over to the side of the road and thinking, Im only 26 years old and I have stage 4 cancer. To make the situation even worse it was a form of cancer that is incurable and very rare for a 26 year old to have.
Since the cancer was in the very late stages there was little time to waste and I started treatment immediately. My treatments consisted of chemo infusions once every 3 weeks for 6–8 cycles, with most infusions lasting up too 13 hours a day. Needless to say a rigors chemo schedule will change your lifestyle overnight, in particular I was no longer able to continue my regular workout schedule. Prior to becoming a cancer patient I lifted weights 3–4 times a week and also taught cycling classes at 24 fitness, at the time I thought this was a perfect blend of anaerobic and aerobic activity. Unfortunately the cancer had grown so large it began to press against my chest cavity and lungs making it very difficult to continue my cardiovascular routine and my strength training went on immediate hold.
It was now September and while I had been able to endure most of the physical discomfort associated with chemotherapy I began to notice the effects it was having on me emotionally. I went from the most aggressive, Type A, win–at–all–cost mentality to what felt like house arrest. Physically I was no longer the person I use to be and emotionally the depression started to sink in. I knew a large majority of my emotional distress was based upon the lack of physical activity. I needed an outlet and on September 18th, Yoga became my fix.
I walked into Kirkland Hot Yoga and explained to Linda my situation. I was a 26 years old and recently diagnosed lymphoma patient currently undergoing chemotherapy and was interested in taking yoga strictly for its benefits associated with deep breathing. After a brief discussion she reassured me that the Hot Yoga would be a great addition to my cancer treatment and invited me back for the 4:30pm class. I came back at 4:30pm with an open mind not expecting anything more then a couple of toe–touches and few ohms. An hour and half later I walked out of yoga with my bald head dripping with sweat and physically exhausted realizing there were many more benefits to yoga then deep breathing.
I had finally found a venue that was cancer friendly, physically challenging and emotionally healing. I knew then I was going to make hot yoga a corner stone in my cancer treatment and my life. I started coming everyday, regardless of how sick the chemo made me I knew I would feel better after Yoga. There were days I would be too sick to hold any of the postures so I would just quietly lie down and receive the benefits of sweating, relaxation and breathing. I would come for days at a time, slowly building my endurance and health back up only to have chemo the following week negate the previous weeks work. I didnt care that the chemo was knocking me down, just as long as I was in control of getting back up. Inside my body the drugs and cancer were killing me but in that heated room, in my peaceful place I had never felt more alive.
It was now November and I had completed 6 rounds of chemo with another 2 more rounds to go. Before continuing any further with treatment I needed to have CT/PET scans completed to confirm that my body was still responding to the drug therapy and the cancer was receding. My results came back unfavorable, and the CT scan showed there was still a significant amount of tumor residing in the abdomen. With that news the doctors decided to stop all drug therapy and we would discuss the next course of action after the holiday break. Hearing that my body was a non responder was a major blow since the cancer I have is not curable there are only a few options to manage the disease and it now appeared the most relevant option was off the table.
I had been the model cancer patient, practicing healthy nutrition, supplementation, yoga, water consumption and sweating I just could not believe my body was not on the road to recovery. Instead of being discouraged by the news I figured I had 5 more weeks before my next CT/PET Scans to make one last effort. Since I was no longer having infusions that meant my energy level was through the roof, it was 5 weeks of uninterrupted physical bliss. I doubled my yoga, doubled my water, was meticulous about my diet and even though my body was sick and riddled with cancer I had never felt more healthy in my life.
December 7th was probably the most anticipated day of my life as this was the day I would get the most current PET Scan results and learn what type of therapy I would now start. Since drug therapy was no longer an option the second line therapy meant I would most likely need to have a donor stem–cell transplant. Having a stem–cell transplant is a very high risk procedure and due to the high risk of death it is not an option you want to explore. The door swung open and my doctor starred at me, I starred back and was braced to hear the worst, I was ready to hear that I needed a transplant or even worse I was going to die. The doctor set down his clip board and said the words I had worked 6 months to hear...your in remission. My doctor could not believe what he had seen, 5 weeks prior it seemed the worst was waiting ahead and now in three small words I had my life back. I was one of the most severe cases of Follicular Non–Hodgkins Lymphoma the doctor had ever treated and for me to reach remission, in his words was A Miracle.
I truly believe the good people, good energy and DAILY practice of Hot Yoga was a major contributing factor in my battle against cancer. In retrospect I look back at all the research I did and the topics that consistently were being presented outside the realm of western medicine were breathing deeply, water consumption, sweating, and relaxation. Hot Yoga allowed me to accomplish all four areas in exchange for an hour an half of my day. Although Im in remission I will not deviate from my course of action, I will continue my daily devotionals to Hot Yoga and continue the healing process.
I want to thank Linda and all the wonderful instructors who stood by me during my battle with cancer. The community and instructors at your studio encouraged me every day in class and I hope someday my experience can encourage others. Thank you for helping me get my life back.
-- Anonymous