Cancer patients benefit from fitness programme

BEN CAMPBELL/Auckland City Harbour News

FIGHT BACK: With help from Lou James, right, Connie Zein is working her way back to good health.

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Kiwi women battling back to full strength after breast cancer could soon benefit from an exercise programme founded in Ponsonby.

Pilates studio owner Lou James has won funding to take Pink Pilates nationwide.

The Max Foundation granted $8500 to develop a training programme for the scheme dedicated to helping women diagnosed with breast cancer.

The money will go towards developing a training programme for other health professionals.

Lou, owner of re:ab in Ponsonby, developed the programme in January 2006 when she discovered a need for post treatment recovery.

"I worked with a lot of women who were affected by breast cancer," she says.

"Be it their sisters, mothers, aunts, daughters, nearly all the women in my classes knew someone who had it."

After a year of research in 2005 Lou launched Pink Pilates when she failed to find many other programmes aimed at helping women recover from cancer treatment.

"There wasn’t much out there at all, worldwide," she says. "Pink Pilates is about getting back to being physically strong. When you are physically strong, you can be mentally strong."

Connie Zein was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and regularly attends Lou’s programme.

"I was very fit before I got cancer," she says.

"Then all this happened and I spiralled down mentally and physically, which was hard to come out of.

"This programme has helped me start getting my fitness back and organise my life.

"I have good things to focus on instead of my sickness," she says.

Connie says it would be great to see the programme made available to more women.

"There are ladies who would really benefit from this programme," she says.

The money was raised for the foundation by profits from tote bags sold at Max clothing stores throughout the country.

For more information visit the website www.pinkpilates.co.nz.

– Amanda Wisnewski is a Wintec journalism student

- © Fairfax NZ News