Small Town News

Cheney Jazzercise to host cancer fundraiser

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West Plains Jazzercise Cheney will host a special "Back in the Swing" fundraising class on May 22, during National Fitness and Sports Month. A $10 donation will be requested to participate in this special Jazzercise class. All proceeds from Jazzercise/Back in the Swing fundraising classes will be donated to the Back in the Swing organization.

Jazzercise recently announced its partnership with Back in the Swing USA, a grassroots nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to providing awareness, access and financial support for breast cancer survivorship programs and academic medical research in the field of breast cancer survivorship. The organization's goal is to empower breast cancer survivors to get back in the swing of life physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Jazzercise was at the forefront of a recent study at the Breast Cancer Survivorship Center (BCSC) at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. The study strongly indicated the importance of exercise for breast cancer survivors. From 2008 through 201,0, half of the study's participants attended Jazzercise classes for a six-month period.

The participants underwent pre- and post- intervention assessments of overall fitness, breast cancer risk, and measures of quality of life. The study showed that Jazzercise participants lost 5.6 percent of their total body fat, 12.6 percent of their starting body weight, and decreased their levels of insulin by greater than fifty percent.

The study group also demonstrated considerable progress in several measures of fitness, including increased flexibility, grip strength, endurance, and heart rate. They also reported significant improvements in quality of life including diminished depression and fatigue symptoms. These findings have been shown to lower blood pressure and LDL ("bad cholesterol"), lessen the risk for heart disease, improve glucose intolerance (decreasing risk for diabetes), and greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

"We are proud to take part in this fundraising effort," Jazzercise Cheney instructor Julie Butler said. "Together we will help breast cancer survivors get 'back in the swing' and 'stay in the swing' of joyful, healthy living after breast cancer."

Judi Sheppard Missett founded-Jazzercise in 1969. She and Jazzercise executive vice presi dent Shanna Missett Nelson have grown the program into an international franchise business that today, hosting a network of 7,800 instructors teaching more than 32,000 classes weekly in 32 countries.

The workout program offers a fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, pilates, yoga, and car-dio box movements. Jazzercise has raised more than $27 million for charitable organizations around the world in its 40-year history.

For more information on Cheney's fundraiser, contact Butler at 389-1146.



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© 2010 Cheney Free Press Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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