Team Survivor Northwest was featured in Greet: Kirkland Magazine and we are honored to share the piece with our community.

When you hear the word cancer, you may think of chemo, radiation, surgery, and hardship. But at Team Survivor Northwest, cancer means climbing mountains, weekly hiking and walking groups, sweating it out in fitness classes, paddling in Dragon Boat races, and training for triathlons.

Team Survivor is a local nonprofit organization that provides free health, fitness, and wellness programs to women who have had a cancer diagnosis. Whether in active treatment, remission, or facing a new diagnosis, these women reclaim their power by moving their bodies and healing their hearts together.

“The comment that I hear the most from our members is how they never realized a cancer group could be such a positive place. They love being around others who get what they are going through without having to explain anything, without others feeling pity toward them, and often without even having to talk about cancer unless it comes up naturally in conversation,” says Executive Director Jennefer Boyer. “They can be themselves.”

These words ring true for member and Kirkland resident Barbara Travers, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in July of 2019. Her battle included surgeries, radiation, chemo, and ultimately a stem-cell transplant, and the last thing she wanted to do was sit around and talk about her cancer.

“I totally get commiserating about cancer, but I didn’t want to talk about it – I wanted to get beyond it,” Travers says.

In 2021, Travers was looking for a way to get active again, and that’s when her nurse emphatically suggested Team Survivor Northwest. At first, she participated in several online fitness classes, and slowly regained strength. When she heard that Team Survivor’s Mountain Climbing group was going to tackle Mount St. Helens in the summer of 2022, she felt called to join.

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