Keeping fit has proved a lifeline for retired hospital pharmacist Sarah Jones, 58, from Cardiff.
Her first mammogram screening in 2017 revealed breast cancer but, throughout chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, Sarah kept going with her exercise classes at Eastern Leisure Centre.
Six years later, just after Christmas in 2023, a serious car accident resulted in her being hospitalised with a broken sternum and two broken vertebrae.
“I was driving home after a family gathering when a car careered into me from the opposite side of the road and hit me head on,” said Sarah.
“That was bad enough, but a scan taken at the time also showed I had a tumour on one of my kidneys. I hadn’t had any symptoms, and the cancer was at an early stage, so finding it was a happy chance that meant it could be removed.”
Sarah believes fitness has a lot to do with her recovery success.
“I have been going to the leisure centre at least twice a week – just as I was before my first diagnosis – and one of my consultants told me that keeping fit has helped keep me get better more quickly.
“I’m back to normal with a clean bill of health now. Nikki Lewis is the leisure centre manager and the personal training she’s provided throughout has played an important part in getting me back on my feet.
“I enjoy group classes like spin and body conditioning, too. The people working out with me have become good friends and we’re all there for each other.”
Eastern Leisure Centre is one of eight community and leisure centres in Cardiff that is run by GLL, a not-for-profit social enterprise.
“Sarah is an amazing lady who has been through a lot,” said Ann Hillman, GLL’s Community, Sport and Health Manager.
“We work very closely with our NHS colleagues in Cardiff and understand the vital role regular exercise plays in being physically resilient. Sessions are tailored to the individual and anyone and everyone can benefit.
Sarah will be sixty in eighteen months’ time and is hoping that her sixth decade will prove a lot more problem free than her fifth.
“My fifties have been a rollercoaster in terms of health issues so I’m looking forward to my sixties,” she said.
“One thing is for sure – I’ll keep on exercising because that has honestly been my lifeline.”
