00:00I came to surfing late in my midlife. I learned to surf when I was 52 and it made me
00:04feel so
00:05strong and empowered and brave. So when I found out I had breast cancer, I didn't want to give
00:10that up. And I'm really lucky that I didn't have to. I was totally devastated. One of the first
00:16things I did was rally my surf girlfriends and we paddled out together to surf. This is the video
00:21footage of that day surfing together for the first time as I grappled with the news. And I just kept
00:27paddling out and surfing with my girlfriends throughout the whole six-month experience.
00:32And surfing with them kept me sane and healthy and strong. It helped me get through the recovery
00:37from the double mastectomy. It helped me get through chemotherapy and all the side effects.
00:41I feel so grateful to the ocean, to my ability to surf and my friends. And I've subsequently
00:46learned from my oncologist and doing some searching online that medical research confirms that
00:53continuing to stay physically active during cancer treatment and recovering chemotherapy
00:58is one of the best things a person can do.
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