A team of fitness experts guides participants through a host of exercise and informational programs meant to strengthen and empower them to battle their illness.
By: David Campbell
On Sept. 11, 2001, Tony Vlahovic’s father died from bladder cancer that had spread to his lungs.
Mr. Vlahovic, president and co-owner of Momentum Fitness off Route 206 in Montgomery Township and a cancer survivor, said his father Edward’s death at 66 caused him to rededicate himself to a free cancer-outreach program he started in 1999 that, until then, had been slow to get off the ground.
"My dad was diagnosed in early August and died Sept. 11, which for the world and especially the country was just a tumultuous day," he said.
He got a call from his mother telling him his father was very ill and wasn’t going to make it, Mr. Vlahovic said.
"By the time I got to the house he was dead," he said. "I spent that evening in the funeral parlor. It was just a day that I’ll never forget for a lot of reasons."
Staff members at Momentum were eager to help in any way they could, Mr. Vlahovic said.
"They knew how much I wanted to get the program going and felt they had something to offer," he said. "At that point, I really dedicated my personal work and the program to him."
The Cancer Wellness Program is free to people recovering from cancer or undergoing treatment for the disease. A team of fitness experts guides participants through a host of exercise and informational programs meant to strengthen and empower them to battle their illness. Some of the instructors are cancer survivors themselves.
Participants in each 10-week program meet twice a week in hour-long sessions with instructors. Training focuses on techniques to strengthen the mind, body and even the spirit, such as cardiovascular and strength training; Pilates; aquatics; yoga; meditation; massage and nutrition counseling.
At the end of the 10 weeks, participants are encouraged to take what they’ve learned and use it as part of their fitness plan during cancer treatment and recovery.
Instructors in the current cycle of classes are Beth Young on nutrition; John Windwalker on meditation; Jaime Stover-Schmitt on yoga; Susan Stoltzfus on massage therapy; Bernadette Mansfield on acquatics; and Linda Mannheim on Pilates. Anne Grossman, a personal trainer at Momentum, runs the day-to-day business of the program.
Mr. Vlahovic said anticipated competition from The Medical Center at Princeton, which plans to open a wellness and fitness center this spring in the Princeton North Shopping Center next door, has spurred him and his staff to work harder at what they do, including the free cancer program.
The Momentum president said it’s too soon to tell whether presales in a storefront at the shopping center have cut into his business, but he said he is optimistic.
"We’re very positive about it, we’re unified as an organization, and it’s better than it’s ever been," Mr. Vlahovic said.
One way staff members at Momentum express that unity is by contributing expertise and time to the cancer program without pay.
The Cancer Wellness Program is a nonprofit that shares space with Momentum, Mr. Vlahovic said. Funds are raised through contributions by friends, staff and people who have been through the program. The money is used to pay for brochures to physicians and community organizations, and salaries of instructors who opt to be paid.
About 60 people have been through the course to date, Mr. Vlahovic said, noting that all one needs to join is a referral from a physician.
Princeton resident George Lovitt said he entered the program shortly after he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia about a year ago, and today he exercises at Momentum two or three times a week as a paying member.
"I’m 80 years old and I’ve never gotten into things like yoga or Pilates, or even bothered with nutrition in its relation to cancer," said Mr. Lovitt. "It introduced us to all aspects of taking care of our bodies. There was a great variety of areas that were new to me."
Hopewell resident Mardi Considine forged new friendships through the program, which she said "brought together a group of people who are experiencing unique challenges."
Ms. Considine said she is presently too ill to attend, but hopes to return as soon as she is able.
"When you’re dealing with a life-threatening illness, it’s really critical to encompass the full spiritual and mind-body connection to keep your spirits up," she said. "The experience of the class galvanized the importance of keeping up with all of that as I fight my little war."
Mr. Vlahovic said that when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer as a high-school freshman, he was scared to death. He said his father aided his recovery in part by treating him the same as he did before his diagnosis.
"He always had a great sense of humor, making me feel I wasn’t any different from anybody else," he said. "Life takes funny turns. You take adversity, you take it head on, you make something good out of it."

