Jennifer Jones was always active. As a kid, she played tennis, and as an adult, she was a self-proclaimed “gym rat” and OrangeTheory “fanatic.” In her 40s, she was pushing harder than ever and was at the peak of her fitness life in June 2020 when it all came to a devastating stop.
The diagnosis was triple-negative breast cancer. Although it was caught early, her treatment was intensive. She underwent chemo from July to December 2020 at West Cancer Center under the guidance of Dr. Bradley Somer. The innately difficult experience was made unimaginable during the height of COVID. “The typical social support that most chemo patients receive was absent, and I was ‘next level’ tired.” Despite her physical exhaustion, Jennifer’s active spirit never waned.
“I knew I needed to move my body, so I chose running.” Even while undergoing chemotherapy, she was running in her neighborhood. “I began with only ten minutes per day.” Her discipline paid off with a remarkably easy physical recovery after her double mastectomy in January 2021, but her mental recovery was another story.
In 2021, she was declared cancer-free. “You spend your time seeing doctors multiple times per month until one day you hear ‘cancer free,’ and all you can think is ‘now what?’”
“Every little ache and pain triggers the fear, ‘is it back?’” In the time following her treatments, the threat of recurrence was real. With this reality, she critically looked at what she would do with her second chance at life.
After an arduous, introspective journey, her epiphany came. “Exercise is the number one way to reduce the risk of recurrence, and just putting on my workout clothes gave me power; I knew I would do something that day.”
In the years following her clearance, she has passionately answered her own “what now” question, finding her calling in helping people transition from “cancer patient” to “cancer thriver.”
“Bodies are so different after cancer and cancer treatment, I wanted to learn more.” She became an ACE Certified personal trainer and, a year later, enrolled in the Cancer Exercise Training Institute and became a Certified Cancer Specialist. She now owns her own business, ThriveWell Fitness. Her expertise is in fitness and healthy lifestyle choices after cancer treatment and in chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension.“My goals are to instill both physical and mental strength in those affected by cancer and to help lay a healthy foundation for their path forward.”
She currently organizes one-on-one personal training in her home gym and at the Jewish Community Center, where she teaches group fitness classes. “After cancer, we struggle to settle into a new normal, whatever that may look like. My mission is to empower people to build strength and resilience to live their best lives.”
Jennifer has indeed thrived in her time after cancer and wants others to do the same. Perhaps Dr. Somer summarized Jennifer’s mission best in an email after her treatment: “Heal up and feel better, love life, and do great things!”
ThriveWell Fitness and the Memphis Jewish Community Center will be partnering to offer small group fitness classes for cancer fighters and survivors beginning in mid-August.
For more info, visit Thrivewellfitness.com or Jccmemphis.org.
IG: @thrivewellfitness , FB: Thrivewellfitness
By Amanda Tompkins
Photo by Tindall Stephens
