By Benjamin Davis / The Jambar
Faculty from the Youngstown State University Dr. Dominic A. and Helen M. Bitonte College of Health and Human Services will be hosting Walk with a Doc at 10 a.m, Oct. 2 at the Southern Park Mall in Boardman. The focus of the event will be breast cancer awareness.
Nancy Landgraff, professor and department chair of Graduate Studies in Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, said the YSU Walk with a Doc chapter is run by students from BCHHS.
“Walk with a Doc is … an international program of walking chapters,” Landgraff said. “We belong to the walking chapter with Walk with a Doc at Youngstown State University.”
According to an article from the National Library of Medicine, Walk with a Doc was created by Columbus-based cardiologist Dr. David Sabgir in 2005. The event has since expanded with chapters across the United States and abroad.
The YSU chapter meets the first Thursday of each month and hosts speakers to discuss a specific health topic. Landgraff said that breast cancer awareness will be the topic for October.
“This month, because it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are having one of our faculty that’s involved in our cancer rehabilitation program, which is Dr. Matt O’Dell,” Landgraff said. “He’s an exercise physiologist who’s going to be talking about the benefits of exercise for cancer survivors and why they need to move more and they need to walk.”
Landgraff said physical activity helps breast cancer survivors rebuild their endurance.
“Physical activity just in general helps build back up their endurance after they’ve lost endurance and lost strength because of maybe medications, chemotherapy, radiation interventions, etc.,” Landgraff said.
Landgraff added that staying physically active has aided in her own recovery from breast cancer.
“Being a breast cancer survivor myself, I definitely have stayed in physical activity during the entire time that I was having radiation therapy, as well as in the five years post when I’m taking medication and just making sure that I keep myself healthy,” Landgraff said.
Besides raising awareness, Landgraff said the event hopes to expand its reach and give students from other majors valuable experience.
“I’m reaching out right now to respiratory care hoping that we can have a speaker on lung health,” Landgraff said. “Our athletic training faculty are going to be involved in January because they’re going to be talking about how to deal with the elements outside and be physically active outside when it might be icy, snowy, cold — that kind of thing.”
The event is open to all, with no need to register beforehand. Aside from attending the event, Landgraff said there are other ways to support Walk with a Doc’s mission.
“Don’t be afraid to talk about the topics. Encourage people to be physically active because it’s such a gift,” Landgraff said. “The less sedentary people are, the better help they’re going to have.”
