Michelle T’s story

I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) at 60-years-old.

At the time of my diagnosis, I was on rotating shifts with the latest finish being 11pm. I had been doing graveyard shifts a few years prior, eating processed and junk food, and not sleeping or moving much, which all contributed to weight gain.

I had severe osteoarthritis in both knees and had fallen over several times on my knees over the years. Being 40kilos overweight didn’t help.

My diagnosis with CCL was a turning point, fuelling my determination to take control of my health.

In the past, I had great success with personal training and did some research into what kind of exercise I could do with CLL and realised that if I listened to her body, nothing was off limits.

I knew I needed to lose weight and get healthy. The hospital had told me that losing weight would need to happen as I’d eventually need knee surgery. I had no reason not to do it.

My personal trainer started me on an exercise and nutritional program, and I began tracking my meals and cooking at home. I’d been working a graveyard shift as a switchboard operator at a hotel and had been eating so unhealthfully, so everything really did need to change.

I couldn’t use the bike because of my knees so I’d walk on the treadmill and use the elliptical machine. I was lifting very light weights at first, but I went 5 days a week and did some exercise every day.

A few months later, in 2021 during lockdown, I started having some disturbing symptoms and knew something wasn’t right.

More than 10 years prior when I turned 50, I’d received a bowel cancer screening test kit in the mail but had put it away in the cupboard. I dug it out and did it, and it came back positive. Even then I thought it was a mistake. Surely, I couldn’t have cancer twice!

When I came ’round from the colonoscopy my doctor came over and said ‘I have some very bad news. You have colon cancer.’ My first question was ‘Am I going to die?’

I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Stage 3 bowel cancer and within 3 weeks underwent major surgery and then began chemotherapy treatment.

The treatment I was undertaking for the CLL, as it was spreading to my lymph nodes, also had to pause because of the bowel cancer.

They took 30cm of my colon out and the recovery was 8 weeks. After 8 weeks of rest, which I needed, I was back at the gym. I couldn’t wait to get back. No matter what was going on, exercise always made me feel better.

I had to wait for doctor’s clearance before returning to the gym, and then I started chemotherapy. I wasn’t allowed to do crunches for 6weeks, and my personal trainer Adam adapted my program to suit how I was feeling each day.

Despite the nausea and fatigue, I continued to do what I could at the gym.

I planned my gym days around my treatment for 4 months. I’d have chemotherapy on Fridays. By Tuesday I’d be feeling a bit better, so my training days were Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I felt sick all the time, but I didn’t want the weight I’d lost to come back and so I’d walk to the gym, which took about 45 minutes and do what I could. Then Adam would send me home to rest.

Once chemo finished – 4 monthly cycles – I resumed treatment for CLL.

I made so many new friends and found a support system at the gym. It really changed my life.
My oncologist and my haematologist called me the ‘gym girl’. One of the trainers at my gym called me ‘Wonder Woman’. Everyone knew what I was doing and saw the difference it was making.

I felt strong, I felt healthy; I just felt good.

I continued to gain muscle and I lost 40kg. I had knee replacement surgery 18 months ago and even though the surgery and recovery were awful, I was back to exercising as soon as I could.

I completed treatment for CCL 12months ago and follow up tests last week concluded that my blood test was normal. I also had a colonoscopy three weeks ago. No signs of recurrence and a CT scan no signs of cancer!

There’s no cure for CLL, but I am in remission. I put a lot of this down to changing my nutrition, exercise and weight training.

Through Affordable Housing I have been approved with funding for a project called Build Your Neighbourhood, to support local residents to get active and receive free coffees.

I couldn’t walk without intense pain 5 yrs ago and now I walk on average 20,000 steps a day.

Everyone can find some type of exercise that works for them.

Even just a 5-minute walk in the fresh air can make all the difference to how you feel that day. You may not feel like it but starting slowly and building up is all it takes. Exercise absolutely changed my life and today I’m healthier and happier than I’ve ever been.