Mission to help others

Grace Little was 51 and had been married for just one day. She thought she had the world on a string. She was packing for a cruise when the string broke; she found a lump in her right breast.

She got a consult and was told not to worry. She went on her cruise and upon her return, the lump was tested. The biopsy showed cancer.

The process, from diagnosis to recovery, took one year. The lump was small enough that she would only need a “lumpectomy” (only the lump itself is removed) rather than a mastectomy, but some cancer was found in her lymph nodes.

“This meant I would need chemotherapy for four months followed by six weeks of daily radiation treatment.” The lymph nodes, near where the lump was removed, were also removed.

Cancer treatment is often followed by the removal or damage to the lymph nodes or vessels, preventing lymph fluid from being transported properly in the body. The condition is known as lymphedema.

There is no cure for lymphedema but Little learned that treatment, including massage and exercise, can prevent or lessen the symptoms of tightness, swelling, joint immobility and pain.

Exercise can benefit the body in fighting a host of illnesses, and when she found a Web site on the Lebed Method, a therapeutic exercise program for breast cancer survivors, she made it her mission to learn it, do it and share it. The program was not available in Spokane, so she trained in Edmonds, Wash., and became a licensed and certified Lebed Method instructor.

The Lebed Method was founded in 1980 at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Today more than 450 hospitals, cancer centers, fitness centers and community centers across the United States, Canada and Korea have the program.

It is about “thriving…not just surviving” and at Sacred Heart’s Providence for Faith and Healing, Little will help others do just that.

Incorporating different styles of music, Little’s one-hour class uses a full range of motion and is calming and energetic. The movements are specifically designed to stimulate the optimum flow of the lymphatic system, which supports and enhances the function of the immune system.

Using beach balls, boas, stretches and movements akin to swimming, bouncing and dancing, the class is invigorating and is easily adjusted to the participants’ abilities. The class also will serve as a place to tell stories and gain insight as well as the ability to thrive.

“I have concluded that each day is a gift,” said Little, now 58.