From Feeling Fragile to Finding Her Strength: Marion’s Story

As part of CFIT’s Breast Cancer Awareness campaign, Marion shares how she rebuilt her strength, found a space for herself and discovered what becoming stronger for life could mean.

Marion is a mum to two very active boys, wife to Rab and approaching her 50th birthday. Before her breast cancer diagnosis, movement was part of her life. She walked, swam in the sea and dipped in and out of exercise classes. Strength training, however, was unfamiliar territory. She thought lifting weights might be hard on her bones and joints. She had no idea how meaningful it would become.

When a walk across the beach felt out of reach

Marion had surgery in March 2024, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Both the diagnosis and treatment hit her hard. There were days when fatigue took over completely. Something as simple as walking across the beach—the sort of thing you might never think twice about, became something she desperately missed.

Stopping work for treatment also meant more time alone with her thoughts. She tried not to be hard on herself. But she made a promise: when she could, she wanted to build her strength.

Starting with the body she had that day

Walking came first. With a treadmill at home, Marion gradually tried to walk a little longer.

In her words, it was “snail’s pace”.

She also felt nervous about lifting anything. Surgery on her right side and a chemotherapy PICC line on her left had left both sides feeling weak and tender.

“I felt broken completely, mentally, physically, emotionally.”

She wanted to exercise, but worried she would be unable to do anything. She worried about hurting herself. When you have already experienced so much discomfort, the possibility of more pain can feel overwhelming. After we spoke and put a plan together, Marion came to her first CFIT session.

That session began to change how she felt about lifting weights. Something she had feared became something she could begin to explore, with support and a starting point suited to her.

Early progress wasn’t about a particular weight on the bar. It was coming through the door. Giving it a go. Returning the following week.

“Progress was showing up every week. I knew that I couldn’t measure my success in kilograms.”

There were frustrating days. Times when progress felt slower than she wanted. Looking back, Marion now recognises that those small steps were progress too. Every session helped build the foundation for what came next.

Then came a moment she hadn’t imagined possible: a 50kg deadlift.

“To me it might as well have been a tonne—it was a brilliant feeling.”

That lift meant something because she knew where she had started. It gave her another reason to keep going.

A space to feel like herself

Ask Marion what strength training has given her outside the gym, and her answer is immediate: it has been life changing. She feels physically stronger. She reports no longer experiencing the joint and bone pain she previously felt, despite ongoing medication and a medically induced menopause.

But some of the most meaningful changes are harder to measure. Her weekly session is time for herself. A place where, for a little while, she can focus on the exercise in front of her.

“It’s a safe space.”

There is the feeling after a session. The clearer head. The change in mood. And there is the CFIT community: people with their own challenges, showing up alongside her. That sense of belonging has helped her feel less alone.

Looking back and seeing how far she has come

Marion is proud that she has kept going. Comparing photographs from her first session with those taken a year later helped her recognise the distance she had travelled. She also remembers the breast cancer Pilates session as a particularly emotional and meaningful day.

When asked to finish the sentence “Movement is medicine to me because…”, she said:

“When I need it most, it reminds me what I’m capable of physically, mentally and emotionally.”

That is what stronger for life means to Marion.

A growing belief in herself. A space that belongs to her. Strength she can carry into the rest of her life.

Her message to another woman who feels afraid to begin?

“Please do it, for yourself now and for the strong old lady you want to be.”

Every recovery is different, and returning to exercise should be guided by your treatment team and individual circumstances. Marion’s story shows what became possible for her, one small step and one session at a time.

Marion, I’m so proud of the strength you have built and the commitment you have shown. Thank you for trusting me and for sharing your story.

Catherine — CFIT, Stronger for Life.

Read the other story in this campaign: Learning to Trust Her Body Again — Sharon’s Story.