Move Beyond Surviving | Tom Tressler | Post-Treatment | Breast Cancer | PTSD

DESCRIPTION

An often-overlooked phase of the cancer journey is what takes place after achieving survivorship. On this episode of the @CancerInterviews podcast, Tom Tressler tells us about the challenges of a cancer journey’s post-treatment phase, with some manifestations including PTSD. This is what led to his co-founding the support group, Move Beyond Surviving.

Tom says the concept of Move Beyond Surviving began in 2017 with a breast surgical oncologist in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Kelly McLean. Like Tom, Dr. McLean is very outdoorsy and she came to realize there is a substantial benefit of getting out into nature for people in general, but especially for cancer patients, during treatment and after treatment. Dr. McLean especially noticed this with some her patients. She noticed many of them, after treatment, were just existing and not thriving. When she took some of these patients hiking and backpacking, she saw the results with the patients were life-changing. Dr. McLean was told by some that what she was doing could be converted into a nonprofit, but realized that as a surgeon, she didn’t have the time to get such a venture off the ground, and run it. That’s when she connected with Tom Tressler.

Tom had no history with cancer. He thought that once one diagnosed with breast cancer completed a mastectomy that in short order, their life went back to normal. Tom quickly learned that, for many cancer patients, that is not the case.

Tom Tressler found out that many treated for cancer, upon survivorship, feel betrayed by their own body. They hold their breath, they look over their shoulder, spending almost all their time in fear of the cancer returning. Tom said that many clinicians feel that what these patients experienced is much like PTSD, or in some instances, it is in fact, PTSD.

Tom says that when gets into nature and engages in exercise, one reconnects with their body and soul, a move that can lower cholesterol.

Move Beyond Surviving connects with people in the Cincinnati area, but its message is available to a global audience on its website.

Additional Resources:

Move Beyond Survivng: https://www.movebeyondsurviving.org

TRANSCRIPT

Bruce Morton: This is the @CancerInterviews podcast, and I’m your host, Bruce Morton. On our show, we highlight the stories of people who overcame a great deal to survive cancer. But what happens after one attains survivorship? For many, this starts a whole new chapter, and it’s not always easy. Our guest on this episode is here to address that very subject. He is Tom Tressler of Cincinnati, Ohio, and he is the co-founder of the support group, Move Beyond Surviving. Now let’s hear what Tom and his group are all about. Tom, welcome to Cancer Interviews.

Tom Tressler: Thanks, Bruce. Appreciate being here.

BM: Tom, it is our custom to begin our interviews from the same place, and that is to personalize our guests. So, if you would, tell me about where you are from, we already know what you do, and when time allows for fun, what you do for fun.

TT: I am in Cincinnati, born and raised here. I never left, which is kind of native for Cincinnatians. If we do move away, we come back. Most of my fun involves being outdoors, whether it is hiking, kayaking, biking, climbing, I just appreciate being outside more than being inside.

BM: I am guessing there must have been a time in which you had nothing to do with Move Beyond Surviving. It had not yet become a thing, and yet it did. So, if you would, walk us through the chain of events that took you from zero, if you will, to where you are now as the co-founder of Move Beyond Surviving.

TT: The name and even the concept of “Move Beyond Surviving” began back in 2017 with a breast surgical oncologist here in Cincinnati, Dr. Kelly McLean. She, like me, is a very outdoor person and realizes the benefit of nature and also knows the benefit of exercise for people in general, but specifically for cancer patients, during treatment and especially after treatment. On her own, she took a group of breast cancer survivors on a five-day, four-night backpacking and whitewater rafting trip one year. The next year she took another group backpacking and rock climbing. These were individuals who were struggling with survivorship, not really thriving at all in life, basically making it from one day to another, just existing. One told me she felt like a victim. I have met of the women who get involved with our group and pretty much all of them said this was life-changing. It made all the difference in the world, and they felt like could get back to a normal life. So, anyway, Kelly did this, and people pointed out to her that this had the basis for a nonprofit, but she had the side hustle of being a breast cancer surgeon and didn’t really have the time nor was she experienced in nonprofits. So, I just happened to meet her, and she told me about her trips, and like everyone else I told her that was a nonprofit waiting to happen. I knew the benefits of being outside myself and even though I was completely naïve to cancer, there is no cancer in my family. When it came to breast cancer, I was of the mind that while treatment now is so great and results are so great, you might have that mastectomy, but then life goes on and everything goes back to normal. I was quickly corrected on that and have learned and learned that that journey never ends. That applies not just to breast cancer, but for any cancer patient that they get through the treatment and there is a whole other chapter in their life that they have to adapt to. So, that’s how we started.

BM: We’re confident you will be able to learn some tips and tools to help you through your cancer journey, but first we’d like to invite you to please give us a ‘like’, leave a comment or review below and share this story with your friends. Kindly click on the ‘subscribe’ button below and click on the bell icon, so you will be notified when we release our next cancer interview. And if you or a loved one are facing a cancer diagnosis, please click on the link in the description and Show Notes below to check out our free guide, “The Top Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I First Got Cancer.”

Now, Tom, Move Beyond Surviving certainly sounds like it is breast cancer-centric. In your experience, what are the most difficult components of post-treatment? You said you talked to someone who said they felt like a victim, but what is a worst-case scenario for someone once they get into survivorship because that is a big part of Move Beyond Surviving’s reason for being?

TT: It’s basically that they stopped living, and when I say ‘living,’ I mean fulfilling life. They hold their breath, they are looking over their shoulder. There is this betrayal they feel from their body, the anxiety over what is going to happen next, that there is no proactive treatment anymore. They may be on a maintenance type of plan, but they not actively try to fight cancer anymore and some of them feel like a sitting duck. That’s just a huge challenge. It has been compared to PTSD. The more I researched on PTSD when I heard that comparison, the more that’s dead on. In fact, some clinicians say it is PTSD. That’s a big component of survivorship, at least in the beginning, until they figure out, hopefully, how to move on to thrive.

BM: We had talked about MBS being breast cancer-centric, but is MBS to any degree, reaching out to survivors of other types of cancer, because one would think that they, too, could benefit from MBS’ message?

TT: We’re not reaching out right now in that we are still new, and we are trying to figure out what is going to do best for this organization and the people we are serving, but the number one question we hear from across the country is, do we serve people affected by other types of cancer. Clearly our message would apply to other types of cancer and would merit serious consideration when we get our firm footing with what we are doing here locally.

BM: Tom, this is going to be a pleasant question concerning a subject that is unpleasant, but you have already referenced how you and Dr. McLean have used the benefits of the outdoors, nature, as a form of therapy for those who are just embarking on their survivorship journey, if you will. If you would, get into some particulars of how getting out into nature helps in this situation.

TT: Let’s just say you go to a park and sit on a bench. There is a calming effect and a physiological effect on your body. You are disconnected from the concrete and the phones and all the hustle and bustle and vehicles, and just the rush of life. You are back to basics, and you can reconnect with your body and your soul and your spirit. It kind of puts things back into perspective, and that’s literally just being in nature. It’s been proven that it lowers blood pressure, it lowers cholesterol, there are so many things that are benefits, just to be in nature. Then we take the exercise component, and I don’t think anyone can disagree that exercise is good for you. We’re adding exercise to this, and nature, so there are two things, and we are making it a challenge. We are not just doing something for the sake of doing it. Part of what these survivors need to do is need to be able to do is overcome challenges because life doesn’t stop once treatment stops. We all know the challenges just keep comin’ and comin’, and I understand when you go through that challenge and that battle, you might feel like you don’t want to face another challenge. Remember being in college and staying up all night for an exam. The next day you don’t want to study. The challenges don’t go away, so but if they keep plugging, the next time a challenge comes up, they are going to give it a try because they did it last time. And then there is peer support because now we have a group of like-minded people that has shared a very similar journey. They understand each other and there is an almost immediate bonding between these people that prior to showing up were strangers. So, they feel confident, and they don’t feel like there is a chance of failure because that is not a part of this program. If you show up, you have succeeded. I look at it like if you have registered for one of our events, that’s a step forward and you’ve succeeded. If you show up to the event, that’s a step forward. You actually participate in the challenge, you’ve succeeded. You may not climb to the top of the 40-foot rock wall, but you gave it a shot and that’s a win. The support I saw from these survivors every time we do something is just inspiring, and it is humbling to me because, like I said, I have never been through a cancer journey, and I don’t know if I would have the inner strength and the courage and everything that these people are showing me. I don’t know if I have that. I hope I never have to find out.

BM: Our guest is Tom Tressler. He is the co-founder of the Cincinnati-based support group, Move Beyond Surviving. Before we go any farther, Tom, for anyone who is watching or listening and would like to contact MBS’ site, what is its address?

TT: www.movebeyondsurviving.org. You should know we don’t limit our participants to the Cincinnati area. These are one-day events, sometimes even shorter than that, but we have had people from all over the country expressing interest in taking part in our events.

BM: Two questions regarding what you are doing and how it can affect others. Can someone in a faroff place go to your website and learn about the concept incorporating nature into the post-treatment piece. Is that possible through your website?

TT: We have a decent explanation of that. How deep you want to dive can be aided by our good friend, Google, but on our website is a history of what we do and why do it, and the effects that nature and exercise have, so there is some component of that in our website, yes.

BM: And, as for the exercise at your events and the exercise that you or Dr. McLean may advocate, is this extremely rigorous exercise, or can the person participating, can they regulate just how rigorous it is?

TT: It’s kinda go at your own speed. There’s no rush and we plan for that. If it is just me going on a longer hike, I am going to go more quickly than some in our group would, and we take time to enjoy the views and bond with each other and we take lunch breaks as much as we need. The support of everyone in our group wouldn’t allow us to do anything but that. They are going to rally around anybody that needs a break. We kayak and if you want to go back to land, you can; it’s challenging and not everyone can do everything to their fullest potential, but that’s not the point.

BM: As we’ve established, this is something that even though your group started out as trying to resonate with those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, we have established that this post-treatment phase is something that can be part of anybody’s cancer journey. What if someone isn’t all that outdoorsy or they are not into exercise as they should be. How can MBS reach somebody fitting that profile?

TT: We rely on a number of things. Word of mouth from our former or current participants, and some of them fall into that category you referenced, and they told me that realized they had to make a change or they were gently nudged by a family member or their health care providers. I can preach it all I want, but I don’t know how much impact that has, but when you have a survivor saying they haven’t done anything in years, I went to an MBS event and now I am hiking on a regular basis or I have been kayaking multiple times and they’re telling other people and that’s what happens. So, we see this mix of return participants bringing along new participants that were hesitant. Our challenge and the Catch 22 is I believe the people that would benefit most are also the least likely to come. The more challenge you are experiencing with survivorship, the less likely you are going to be able to get over that hump and sign up; but they’re doing it and I am pleasantly surprised, and I am sure that there are many who started to register than backed away from it. We have had a handful of cancellations, but they have all been medically related, so that’s not a concern. I say if you have actually registered, if you even think about it, that’s progress. If you start considering attending one of our events, that’s great, that’s moving forward. If you register, that’s a win, too, that’s a show-up. So, every stage of this is a show-up in my mind, and maybe next time, they’ll show up to an event.

BM: Tom, I don’t know if there is a way for you and Dr. McLean to track this, but I’ll throw it out to you because I am interested in your answer if in fact this is something you can ascertain; but the kind of routine that you seek to establish with someone who takes part in one of your events is that they make that routine on their own, because you don’t have events every day of the year, do you have any idea of the percentage of the people who take part in your events who go on to make this their daily routine, away from MBS?

TT: We have not officially tracked that yet, but we’re hearing from them. Not everybody, but some of them were active before, but now they are doing more outdoor stuff or more challenging versions of what they had been doing. We want to introduce them to so many different things. For me, I don’t have one go-to, and a lot of people don’t. One day you go hiking and the next day it’s a bike ride or in the winter you go skiing, you go rock climbing or get in a kayak or a canoe or paddleboard. If you had more options, it just opens up more doors. Are they doing that? Yes, because we are hearing about it. It’s kinda neat. They’re excited. They’re starting to hike and they’re putting it on their Facebook page.

BM: Tom, we always start our interviews from the same place and end from the same place. That said, our closing question goes like this: If you ran into someone who had just survived cancer, I suspect you would have something to say to them. Out of that entire message, if there is one thing that stands out as most important, what would it be?

TT: I would say get out there and try it and the more you are afraid to try it, the more you should try it. It’s ironic you say this because last night at a basketball game, afterward I went to a bar, and I was speaking to a woman pouring a beer and she told me she is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor. She asked what I did, and I told her. She went to our website and even though she is not yet eligible for our events yet, she said she just loves the idea, she’s gonna look and see what we are doing and try to do it herself and that was literally in a ten-minute conversation. So, I say go out there and try it. There are no regrets in trying, but there are regrets in not.

BM: Excellent, Tom. Our guest has been Tom Tressler, he’s the co-founder of Cincinnati-based Move Beyond Surviving, and it is there to help you if you have just completed treatment in your cancer journey and you are moving into survivorship. Tom, thanks so much for being with us, thanks for being with us on Cancer Interviews.

TT: Thanks, Bruce, I enjoyed it.

BM: And that’s going to conclude this particular episode. As always, we want to remind you that you or a loved one are ona cancer journey, you are not alone. There are plenty of people out there like Tom Tressler, like the aforementioned Dr. McLean who are in a position to help you on your way. So, until next time, we’ll see you on down the road.

Additional Resources:

Move Beyond Survivng: www.movebeyondsurviving.org

Cancer Interviews: www.cancerinterviews.com

SHOW NOTES

TITLE: Tom Tressler, Cancer Advocate – Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

For many who survive cancer, once their treatment ends, another chapter begins, and that chapter can be rough. That’s why Tom Tressler co-founded Move Beyond Surviving, a support group that believes in the power of exercise and exploring nature as a way to ease and enhance the survivorship journey. He shares his story with the @CancerInterviews podcast.

Additional Resources:

Cancer Interviews: www.cancerinterviews.com

Move Beyond Surviving: www.movebeyondsurviving.org

Time Stamps:

02:05 How Move Beyond Surviving got started.

05:11 Tom describes a worst-case post-treatment scenario.

07:45 Names the benefits of getting out into nature.

12:14 Tom says people outside Cincinnati can learn about MBS’ concept from its website.

18:44 His message to those who have concluded treatment.

KEYWORDS (tags):

cancer

cancer interviews