The New Year is a time of fresh starts, setting goals and striving to take better care of ourselves; but what if you are faced with health challenges that make it more difficult? The stress of the holidays and pressure around a new year can be inspiring for some but draining for others. For people living with metastatic breast cancer, the mental and emotional toll can be significant. A national survey to better understand the unique challenges people living with MBC face daily found that 90% of those surveyed said they experienced a new or worsened emotional issue while living with this devastating disease*, with more than a third saying they are unlikely to ask for help when it comes to emotional support and companionship.
Despite these daily challenges, the MBC community has a never-ending spirit to do all they can to thrive while actively in treatment for their disease.
Celebrity fitness trainer, Anna Kaiser has partnered with Lilly to continue its Thriver Movement by issuing a 30-Day Challenge to help raise awareness and funds to improve support for people with advanced breast cancer. The purpose of the challenge is to provide 30 days of mindfulness activities and “life hacks” for and by the community coming out of the busy holiday season and into a new year to encourage self-care, empowerment and inspiration for women and men living with MBC.
Kaiser partnered with Lilly in October 2018 to create the Thriver Movement and yoga pose as the unifying representative of the strength of women and men with MBC.
MORE ABOUT ANNA KAISER:
An international fitness authority, dancer, and choreographer, with a background in professional dance and sports medicine, Kaiser began her career in NYC in 2002. After earning a BFA in dance from the University of California (Cum Laude), she studied kinesiology, sports medicine and functional anatomy at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She then went on to acquire teaching certificates in pre/post-natal pilates, TRX (Total Body Resistance Exercise), CES (Corrective Exercise Specialist), and NASM (The National Academy of Sports Medicine). Her natural enthusiasm, terrific sense of humor and reputation for results quickly made her the preferred trainer of celebrities. Kaiser’s passion to support the MBC community is driven by her personal connection to breast cancer and the impact it had on her family when her mother-in-law was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2018.
MORE ABOUT CHRISTINE HODGDON:
Hodgdon was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in April 2015 and became heavily involved in the MBC community after attending a METAvivor advocacy event to push for more MBC research funding. She is a Hear My Voice leadership volunteer with Living Beyond Breast Cancer and has helped inform various components of the More for MBC initiative — including providing input to the Thriver pose, as she practices yoga, and sharing her personal journey with MBC in a recently launched video series.
ABOUT MORE FOR MBC:
Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a complex, unpredictable and currently incurable disease. Approximately 30% of people with early stage breast cancer will have a recurrence, and some may develop MBC. Despite advancements in treatment, the people living with the disease face significant daily challenges that their family and friends don’t always understand. To generate more understanding and support for the women and men living with MBC, Lilly created the More for MBC initiative, a national movement aimed at bringing more awareness, more research and more solutions to support people living with MBC, and the communities that surround them.
