Forward Your Life

Why Join FitSteps for Life®?

You have cancer. Hearing those words from a doctor is life changing. The prospect of enduring cancer treatment, its associated side effects, and the uncertainty of the outcome is overwhelming.

FitSteps for Life® (FitSteps) provides cancer patients with the tools to transform a life of lost hope. The program empowers patients to experience an enriched life with new meaning, a sense of value and renewed hope and peace. FitSteps is unique in providing cancer patients with immediate help wherever they are in their cancer treatment experience.

Through our medically supervised cancer exercise program we have seen that exercise delivers unprecedented and immediate benefits to cancer patients both emotionally and physically. Since cancer treatment creates such a significant financial burden, FitSteps is provided free of charge to the patient eliminating cost as a barrier to exercise. Patients are given unlimited exercise sessions for unlimited duration, enabling the patient to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Clinical Exercise Specialists work directly with each patient to prescribe appropriate exercises based on their diagnosis and physical capabilities. Exercise prescriptions include aerobic exercise, resistance training, and core strengthening along with upper and lower body stretching techniques. Monitoring of metrics during exercise (pulse oximetry, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate recover,  RPE) ensures a safe environment for patients.

The FitSteps program also includes home exercise programs, balance and stability training, patient education, caregiver instruction, and nutrition recommendations. Breast cancer patients are instructed in scar mobilization, mobility management, and lymph-edema management.

We TRANSFORM patients one step at a time.

How to Join

To join FitSteps, a patient must be physician referred, but all adult patients are eligible regardless of type or stage of cancer, degree of disability, current stage of cancer care, or any other co-morbid conditions.

If there is a FitSteps location near you, have your physician fill out the referral form and fax to 877-931-7975. You may also contact us for any questions on how to join the FitSteps program, and view our Patient FAQ’s about FitSteps.

Once You Join

When we receive your referral from the physician, we will contact you by phone to schedule your first visit with us. An Exercise Specialist will perform a baseline evaluation which includes a thorough discussion of medical history, exercise history, personal goals, and current fitness level.  An examination will be done to identify areas of strength and weakness which allows us to create an exercise prescription tailored specifically to YOU and your needs.

Don’t worry about your current fitness level- we will meet you where you are and actively help you get to where you desire to be. You will be given proper instruction on form, intensity, and repetitions of your exercises. Remember, the exercises will all be appropriate for your cancer diagnosis, current treatment related symptoms, and present physical ability. We will be monitoring your pulse, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate recovery, and RPE prior to and throughout the session to ensure safety and appropriate intensity level.

Your FitSteps exercise center has all of the resources required for you to achieve maximum benefit. Many of the program components can also be adapted for use at home. To enhance exercise activity in the home, stretch bands, pedometers, stability balls, and FitBalls are available to purchase.  Detailed handouts for performing specific exercises will be provided or you may purchase the FitSteps exercise and nutrition manual, “Your Journey: Achieving Health and Happiness.” This manual contains valuable information on exercise and nutrition related to cancer and treatment and an appendix full of exercises. Should you need some encouragement to keep exercising, we are able to send reminder text messages to keep you motivated. You can even use your smart phone to log your exercise sessions from home and our secure software will keep track of your activity and progress.

We recommend you bring the following items for your first visit:

• Medication List
• Water
• Comfortable clothes and shoes for exercising