The Waldenstrom's Weekly

September 13, 2024

Volume 4, Issue 35

Special Edition: Walking and Wellness

Did you know? According to the American Cancer Society, regular exercise, such as walking, can improve your quality of life at any stage of your cancer journey.

For those with cancer, the benefits of walking may also include the following:

• Increased energy level and decreased feeling of exhaustion related to cancer treatments
• Some relief from emotional issues, such as anxiety and depression
• Improved sleep
• Improved cognitive function
• Stronger bones

This special issue of the Waldenstrom's Weekly is overflowing with ways to get moving, be well, and, at the same time, raise awareness of WM. This month, every movement you make counts toward IWMF's Walk for WM Walk Around the World. You can learn more and start tracking your movement here.

Get started with Sharon Piotrowski's video! Sharon is a Certified Personal Trainer diagnosed with WM in 2019. She is passionate about motivating people of all fitness levels to achieve their goals and especially loves empowering the well-being of friends with WM. In this fun video, we logged 1100 steps...about half a mile! These steps count toward the 2024 Walk for WM Walk Around the World. Don't forget to register and track them!

Study: More Steps Per Day Linked with Longer Life

Walking may also help you live longer! American Cancer Society researchers have found that even low levels of walking may help people live longer, and that more steps per day are linked to longer life. Read more here.

The American Cancer Society recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (such as walking) or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity (intense enough to make you breathe harder and your heart beat faster) – or some combination of these each week. But - we say, DO WHAT YOU CAN. Start slowly and build up gradually, and do talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

Read on for more ideas to do what you can to move and raise awareness of WM worldwide.

Join the "Movement Movement" with IWMF

During the month of September, IWMF is encouraging everyone to help us raise awareness of WM by tracking our movement around the world! Our goal is to collectively walk 25,000 miles (the distance around the world) to demonstrate our commitment to finding a cure for WM. Visit the Walk for Waldenstrom's page on our website to learn more about raising funds and increasing awareness of WM.

The map below shows our progress so far!

Join a Local Walk!

The Sarasota Walk for WM - The Sarasota support group and local IWMF home office staff hosted a Walk for Waldenstrom’s on September 7^th. Fourteen participants came together to raise awareness walking across the popular Ringling Bridge overlooking Sarasota Bay. Want to host a walk? Contact Cyndi Powers at cpowers@iwmf.com.

IWMF Wellness Classes Count, Too

The IWMF's Wellness Program offers evidence-based classes to reduce your symptom severity and improve your quality of life with WM. Plus, all of our movement offerings can be counted as activities as part of the Walk for WM Walk Around the World!

Come to a class and get your activity logged as a community. Your activity will be calculated into miles so you can participate beyond just walking. This past week, 24 people came to our Chair Yoga and practiced 40 minutes of low-intensity activity. This was logged as 960 minutes.

Sign Up Now

Roll out your mat! Gentle Mat Yoga will count for 60 minutes of low or moderate intensity activity to be counted toward our Walk for WM Walk Around the World. This all-levels mat class will move at a gentle pace, with mindful transitions up and down to the floor. Expect to use a range of tools of yoga such as breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga postures. We will leave time for a rest pose at the very end. No yoga experience necessary.

Yoga is an ancient mind-body practice and integrative intervention that has been shown to improve quality of life for those affected by chronic illness like cancer.

Sign up here.

Log Your Activity with WM Wellness Videos!

You can log your activity - whatever it is - and help us circle the globe! After you've completed your workout, log your activity here.

“I started doing the Cardio Flow and the Gentle Yoga classes about 2-3 months ago and have found them really helpful for my peripheral neuropathy (toes). And, while I (thankfully) do not have anemia as of now, I also find they give me a little more pep during the day. So, thanks for these classes.” – James M., Maryland, USA

“Thanks for connecting WM people. It means a lot to me that I am not alone though it can feel like that as I have not met a WM patient live.” – Conny L, Norway

"Class was wonderful...It felt so good to move around - it was like a smile for my whole body! I'm so grateful to have found this community.” - Shawna L., Pennsylvania, USA

When You Need to Rest

Whether you’re watching and waiting, undergoing or recovering from treatment, rest is a powerful and much-needed medicine. Accessing this innate state of relaxation is one of our goals during Yoga Nidra, a guided meditation where we are given cues to release effort and explore the internal mind-scape. Try this video to go on a walk in your mind's eye!

SOUND MEDITATION – Friday September 20th at 2pm EDT 

Recharge with sound! Join Ann Grace and relax to the sound of authentic Himalayan Singing bowls, with gentle verbal guidance and healing chants to further calm the nervous system.



Sign up here.

GET THE IWMF WELLNESS NEWSLETTER - Are you interested in receiving a monthly newsletter featuring all the wellness news for the month ahead? Get the Zoom links to every class in one spot, meet featured members of the wellness community, and learn the latest on how integrative therapies can help you navigate your journey. Sign up here for one email per month only! 

Accelerate the Cure: More Info

Accelerate the Cure is much more than a campaign slogan. It’s our next 31 million USD effort, over five years, to find a cure and support those with WM and their caregivers. Global researchers have a new set of WM research targets, and they are afire with excitement. We believe we can find that cure, and we hope 100% of our WM family will contribute! IWMF has three Research Opportunity Funds for your consideration: One for global research, one for WM-NET to accelerate clinical trials, and one that funds the next generation of researchers. We have a fourth fund that enhances our ability to be the world hub for WM education and support. In the months ahead, through this weekly and the Torch, we will illustrate the research progress that is rapidly accelerating through donor investment.

We encourage you to visit our Accelerate the Cure page on IWMF’s website to learn more and perhaps contribute. We invite conversations. Contact us at: office@iwmf.com.

The IWMF mission statement is to support and educate everyone affected by Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM) to improve patient outcomes while advancing the search for a cure.

Waldenstrom's Weekly is a free service to WM community members to share WM related news and events. Click on "download photos" at the top to view all content. For more information, email info@IWMF.com.