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Mathilde was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 44. Doctors treated her with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and Mathilde’s physician informed her that, among many other side effects of her cancer treatment, she could expect to lose muscle mass. To fight muscle wasting, Mathilde began the intensive physical training program offered to cancer patients at the Rigshospitalet University Hospital of Copenhagen. The program consists of 3.5-hour sessions of combined resistance and aerobic training, four times a week for six weeks. Although the chemotherapy made her tired, Mathilde (a friend of mine, not pictured, who requested I use her first name only) did not miss a single training session.
“In a way it felt counterintuitive to do intensive, hard training, while I was tired and nauseous, but I was convinced that the training was good for my physical and mental health and general wellbeing,” ...
