a group of people standing in front of a crowd posing for the camera

DBCC’s Young Survivors in Action promotes meditation and meaningful activity during and after breast cancer treatments

Terry RogersHealth

a group of people standing in front of a crowd posing for the camera

DBCC Young Survivors in Action is a group designed for younger women who are dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis.

Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition (DBCC) understands that every breast cancer survivor needs methods for staying upbeat, healthy and motivated. This is especially true of women who are diagnosed at a young age. For this reason, they offer DBCC’s Young Survivors in Action, a program which is designed to connect, support, and empower young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Recently, DBCC’s Young Survivors in Action program shifted two of their programs to help better serve breast cancer survivors by offering the programs online on DBCC’s Young Survivors in Action Facebook Live Stream to help participants stay active, healthy, and connected during the pandemic” Amanda Perdue, Young Survivor in Action Program Manager said.  “As a result of their success we added a third addition Healing Meditation to start in late February! The three programs highlighted this winter and spring are Sleepytime Yoga, FUNctional Fitness, and Healing Meditation. Sleepytime Yoga and FUNctional Fitness are instructed by Jessica Moyer, owner of the The Ice House Wellness & Community and Healing Meditation is instructed by Melissa Bishop a master level Reiki practitioner and Meditation instructor.

Moyer began her business as a hobby, training women to get more fit through exercise. As she spent more time with them, she found that there was so much more to living a healthy lifestyle than physical activity. Moyer began to see that there was a strong mental, spiritual and emotional side to female well-being. Moyer who is friends with Amanda Perdue who directs the Young Survivors in Action program, Moyer began working with DBCC 13 years ago in order to spread the awareness of the importance of self-care and overall health.

“My journey of self-discovery took me through many dark areas of my life, including an eating disorder, anxiety attacks, the death of a child, two miscarriages, a spouse deployment, death of a parent and bouts of severe depression,” Moyer said. “It took me a long time to discover my purpose which is why I started my business.”

“Sleepy Time Yoga is a monthly yoga class that focuses on short and long-term side effects from breast cancer treatment and surgeries,” Moyer said. “The hour session begins with restorative yoga, a type of restful yoga that facilitates stretch, lymph movement, range of motion and relaxation. This practice is done on the floor, sitting and lying down. Sleepy Time Yoga is followed by a ten-minute meditation to focus on stress reduction and sleep facilitation.”

According to Moyer, FUNctional Fitness, also offered monthly, requires no equipment and is suitable for all fitness levels. FUNctional Fitness involves strengthening and stabilizing the body for activities that are performed in everyday life. It is a fun, half-hour class that helps participants focus on their health right at lunchtime.

Healing Meditation is the newest series to live stream this month starting on February 23, from 5:30-6:00pm. It is a monthly guided meditation to help you focus, de-stress, heal, and improve your intuition, and keep your life in balance. This new addition is a great tool for Young Survivors to have in their pocket not only for use at home but also during appointment wait times, cancer treatments, and post-op recoveries!

Melissa Bishop who instructs the new Healing Mediation series is a Master level Reiki Practitioner and Meditation Instructor. “After battling a drug addiction I embraced my passion of helping others and began a career in the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Industry. Living by the principle: you receive by giving of yourself. I truly believe that sharing the tools and gifts that have been given to me are critical to my life’s purpose” Bishop said.

Donna Johnson who participates in the Young Survivors in Action program and enjoys the yoga sessions, is thankful for what DBCC offers her.

“The DBCC is a top-notch organization that takes good care of us, and I appreciate it very much,” Johnson said. “Being diagnosed with breast cancer was not on my top ten list of fun things to do in life but getting to know the DBCC staff and other Breast Cancer Thrivers definitely helped me on my journey.

“Prior to the start of the pandemic, I was also taking a Chair Yoga class, which I enjoyed very much.  However, once the pandemic started, it became increasingly difficult to get together with my friends to exercise.  While there are many exercise classes online, it just is not the same as getting together with others to exercise, and I found myself getting bored with that option very quickly.  Thankfully, the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition recognized the need for Breast Cancer Thrivers to meet online to participate in physical activity, and the Young Survivors in Action group started hosting monthly FUNctional Fitness and Sleepy Time Yoga sessions.  Now I look forward to meeting with my fellow Breast Cancer Thrivers once a month for these two wonderful fitness programs, which are good for my mind, body, and soul.  Now that the sessions are available via Facebook, I can go back and do the programs on my own whenever I want to do so.  As a healthcare worker and Breast Cancer Thriver, I cannot thank the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition enough for providing these programs, and I highly recommend them! ”

To join any of the classes head over to https://www.facebook.com/YoungSurvivorsinAction/ LIKE and FOLLOW the page and like the livestream to let DBCC’s Young Survivors In Action know you’re tuned in. To learn more about Young Survivors in Action, visit https://debreastcancer.org/programs/young-survivors-in-action/.

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