Lung Cancer Survivor Says Yoga Gave Her Back Her Breath--And Life
BRAINTREE (CBS) -- On any given evening, you can find two-time cancer survivor Janet McCarthy at Chakra Power Yoga--because this is where she learned to breathe again.
McCarthy was just finishing up a course of treatment for breast cancer when she got the news that she had lung cancer, the same disease that took her husband six years ago.
But Janet is lucky--she beat the cancer, and credits yoga for giving her back her breath and her life. Lung surgery had left her so weak, she said she could barely breathe. Someone told her yoga was good for breathing.
"I just had major surgery, so I was still finding my breath," McCarthy said. "And I came to yoga, and they found ways to help."
McCarthy now teaches a yoga class at the Braintree yoga studio. Amidst the peace and calm of her class, she can be heard coughing, a reminder that she is lucky to be alive, and to be so active.
"Physically, I feel fantastic," said McCarthy.
And that's why she chose to give back, raising funds and awareness through what has now become her passion.
"I get out, and I think I do more now than I did before lung cancer," said McCarthy.
McCarthy is now raising funds for the American Lung Association for the group Upstage Lung Cancer, which seeks to raise lung cancer awareness through performing arts.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
