Bathgate personal trainer reveals help is available for cancer sufferers

Mar 17 2011 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

FOR many years, Michael Smith has helped people in their bid to beat the bulge. Now the West Lothian-based personal trainer has turned his attention to supporting an altogether different band of people desperate to improve their health – cancer sufferers.

Michael, who founded Personal Best: Health, Fitness and Well Being, was spurred into action after one of his clients was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following some research, he discovered that there was nothing in Britain aimed at delivering specialised and specific fitness training for cancer sufferers.

Inspired, Michael completed an online course with American College of Sports Medicine and is now forging links with St John’s Hospital in Livingston and the Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh to provide training support for cancer sufferers, and those recovering from treatment, and believes he is the only personal trainer in the country providing such a service.

He said: “When one of my clients was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2008, I realised I didn’t know anything about it.

“There seemed to be a black hole for information on how to treat people with it in fitness terms.

“I went to a workshop and then tried to get in touch with all the governing bodies and charities to find out as much as I could.

“I tried waiting to see if any courses came up in the UK, but they didn’t, so I started studying for the American College of Sports Medicine Cancer Exercise Trainer.

“I did that over the internet and got my books through the college in America.

“It has been difficult but what I am trying to do is get as much exposure as possible and let people know there is help available.

“Since then, I have been speaking to breast cancer care nurses up at St John’s Hospital, and I have a meeting with the Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh soon. I hope I can do something with them.

“It is amazing there is nothing out there for people and this cancer and exercise rehab is something which has never been covered.

“Until a client of mine was actually diagnosed I had no idea that people really had this problem.

“It was then I realised I had to do something and there should be something there to support people.

“With a lot of cancer treatments your fitness is going to go backwards a bit. There’s a lot of bad effects of treatment you have to try to work around and improve.

“A lot of it is just about improving the quality of life. Exercise can reduce pain if it is done correctly, it can help rehabilitation from surgery, it can reduce fatigue and also help combat depression.

“To the best of my knowledge there is no one else in the UK who is qualified to do it.”

Michael (below) has two clients on his books who have battled cancer, Penny Munro, 57, who has defied the odds to survive pancreatic cancer for two years, and 46-year-old Mandie Miller from Linlithgow, who has recently recovered from breast cancer.

Penny explained: “My oncologist suggested I get a personal trainer to get fit to fight everything that comes in the future.

“Michael was recommended to me and, 18 to 20-months on, it has been immensely beneficial to me.

“I had major surgery again last year and if I hadn’t been coming to see Michael, my recovery time would have been trebled.

“The surgeons were very impressed with how fit I was, how I coped with the anaesthetic and everything else because having had two major operations for my cancer and six-months chemotherapy, your body is absolutely toxic and not in good condition.

“Michael has helped me with my diet and a training regime. He has the patience of a saint but, at the same time, he does encourage you.

“He has helped me get fit and I’m now able to cope with life. I still have a lot of ongoing medical problems but I can now cope with day to day life whereas before I met Michael I was probably spending an extra six-hours a day in bed with exhaustion.

“The fact I have survived pancreatic cancer for more than two years means I am one of only four per cent in the world to survive that long. If I get to five-years I will get to 1.5 per cent.

“I put a lot of that down to fitness because my body is fitter. I have changed my diet to totally organic and I am very careful over what I eat and drink.

Like Penny, Mandie believes working with Michael made a huge difference to her recovery.

She said: “I was diagnosed with breast cancer and my husband suggested I get fit before my operation.

“My surgeon said I would recover quicker because of the work I was doing.

“It has helped hugely. Michael got in touch with other cancer specialists to work out how best to work together.

“I had a heart monitor on, too, to make sure I didn’t exceed what I was supposed to do.

“Michael also found out so many things about fatigue and things he was able to advise on other things to watch out for.”