via AreYouAWellBeing.com

The first time Madeleine Morrison and Helen Holland met they chatted non-stop about lifting weights, sweating, running, walking, and whether they could actually get through a cardio strength class intact. Like so many of our Arlington Parks and Recreation patrons, they were living life unplug & connect style.

However, unlike a lot of us, they also talked about cancer and losing hair and doctors and support and husbands and spirituality and how long would it take for that numbness in parts of their body to go away. They hit it off and couldn't wait for day two.

Surviving cancer and making it through treatment are certainly major feats, but for survivors like Madeleine and Helen, post-cancer is often shifting swiftly into a different goal gear in life: keeping cancer from returning.

That's where the HOPE program at Texas Health Arlington Memorial comes in. Tons of research supports the notion that exercising and good nutrition helps maximize long-term health for cancer patients, current and former. Embedded in the fine print of research is how beneficial it is to have an exercise partner who has gone through similar trials.

Madeleine enjoyed aerobics and jazzercise before cancer and chemotherapy relegated her to the sidelines. She could barely lift her arm over her head.

Read their whole story at AREYOUAWELLBEING.COM.