Cancer Survivorship
Program Description
Volv Survivorship offers one-on-one exercise training for those that are actively going through cancer treatment and/or are in remission from cancer. It is our goal to improve a survivor’s overall quality of life through exercise. Research has shown that exercise has the potential to improve a survivor’s physical function, emotional well-being, and improve cognition. Symptoms that have shown strong evidence of improvement through exercise that may occur but are not limited to are,
Cancer-related fatigue
Health-related Quality of Life (ex; live autonomously, improving physical function, decrease potential falls, and improve self-efficacy)
Anxiety
Depression
Lymphedema
Bone health (generate ground reaction force to decreases bone wasting)
Improved sleep
If financial assistance is needed, it can be requested through the Crocus Foundation. Here you will find more information on how you can participate in the survivorship program for a fraction of the price, or even receive access without paying a dime!
It is our hope that in the near future this may be a considerable program for insurance coverage.
Long story short, the more often the better! However we understand you may not physically feel that you are at this level and/or the cost to maintain regularity with us is too great.
However, it is our hope to create a space where you can thrive and begin to create an autonomous mindset about exercise. While we are here to guide you and hope we will work together for an extended period of time, we also want to create positive behavior change that will carry over outside of our facility. This way you can learn to move confidently and effectively without needed supervision in the gym or at home!
The current 2019 ACSM Guidelines for Cancer survivors suggest a minimum of 150 min/week of aerobic exercise and 2x/week of full body resistance training.
We have found that most individuals struggle with resistance training and lack the knowledge and physical tools to perform this on their own. Generally speaking, a survivor’s weekly exercise routine may look something like this:
Monday: 1 hour session at Volv survivorship (30 min walking on the treadmill and 30 min resistance)
Tuesday: 2x 15 min outdoor walk at home (30 min total for aerobic)
Wednesday: 1 hour session at Volv survivorship (30 min stationary Bike and 30 min resistance)
Thursday: 30 min bike ride
Friday: 1 hour session at Volv survivorship (30 min Elliptical and 30 min)
This may be different for everyone depending on where you are at in your health and fitness journey. Some patients may start with just 2x/week doing 30 min sessions for resistance training and then doing all aerobic exercise on their own time. This will be further established at your initial consultation as we pin down what routine may be best for you. We will regularly reassess where your physical fitness is at and if we need to scale up or down based on performance.
If you are interested, please fill out the online form below or reach out via email to volvsurvivorship@gmail.com
A trainer will follow-up with you to schedule a FREE consultation and send you a medical clearance prescription.
Your oncologist or physician will need to fill out a prescription to medically clear you to participate in a supervised exercise program.
This can either be emailed to us or brought in on the day of your initial consultation.
At this point, you will work closely with your trainer to identify your INDIVIDUAL goals to improve your quality of life as it relates to your cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Reagan Friend
Reagan Friend, B.A. in Kinesiology and minor in Psychology, M.A. in Cancer Care with specialization in Clinical Exercise Physiology. I was born and raised in Michigan until I was 10, then my family moved to Arizona until I made my way back to the Midwest for school at Loras College. Here at Loras, I completed my BA in kinesiology and minored in psychology and was able to work with a cancer survivor at the Loras College C.A.R.E.S. Lab started by my professor who does amazing research in this field specifically. This sparked my interest and motivated me to ultimately get my Masters degree at Saint Francis University. Here I blossomed my knowledge in exercise as it relates to cancer survivorship. I received knowledge on identifying imbalance, exercise testing, program prescription, aerobic capacity training, and was able to perform it with hands-on training to local cancer survivors. In addition to my time here, I completed over 500 hours of hands-on training, program facilitation, and program management both at the Evergreen Clinic in Loretto, Pennsylvania and my summer internship at the CARES Lab.
Throughout those years, my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer three different times. It wasn’t until the most recent time that it sank in for me as to what was happening and how it was affecting his physical and emotional health. Not only did I notice a torrential downfall for him, but also my grandmother who was his caretaker. I remember watching her help him up off the couch and waiting on him hand and foot as he appeared to be a small percentage of the man that used to give me strong willed bear hugs. Thankfully, he had beat cancer, all three times. While this progress felt unimaginable, it was evident that even after the cancer had gone, the treatments and their lasting effects lingered. It took him years to be able to function normally; walking, standing up, sleeping, digestion, appetite, and a world of issues hung around.
As I grew and became more aware of his situation, I coincidentally was in my junior year of college and making attempts to decide what I wanted to do with my Kinesiology degree. It was at this time that Clinical Exercise Physiology was introduced to me but from a perspective to improve cancer survivors overall quality of life (typically it is considered for cardiac rehab patients). From that point on, I dedicated my education and career to helping survivors get back what cancer stole from them.
Certifications:
CPR (4/2023-4/2025)
STEADI- Older Adult Fall Prevention
CrossFit Online Level-1