Dorelle Laffal
Diagnosed at age 37 with breast cancer, Dorelle Laffal has undergone a transformation many times over in her battle against cancer. Her road to recovery, filled with obstacles, has provided hope and inspiration to hundreds of other breast cancer survivors.
In the ten years since her first diagnosis, Dorelle has made an amazing physical transformation. She has achieved two goals - she started an extremely rewarding career as a certified personal trainer who specializes in breast cancer recovery training, and she became an award-winning bodybuilder.
Dorelle, like many of us, did not grow up exercising or playing sports. In 1997, when she received her first diagnosis of breast cancer, she had no idea of how to best help herself physically, although she was determined to find out what would work. Her treatment included a mastectomy and chemotherapy. “As I started my recovery, I could not find literature on rehabilitation and fitness for breast cancer survivors. How do you best train while undergoing chemotherapy, or after lymph node removal? It was frustrating,” noted Laffal. "The healthier you are the better your body is able to fight the battle. We should all be prepared for this, and, at the time, I wasn’t.”
In 1999, she was diagnosed with a recurrence in the same breast, a rarity to have cancer come back on the mastectomy side. “It was everywhere, and I struggled to make sense of it,” she remembers. After eight weeks of daily radiation therapy, she committed herself to beat the disease by working toward being the strongest and healthiest she could be. At the same time she pursued becoming a certified personal trainer with the goal of helping other women find strength to battle the disease. “The need was there,” Dorelle says, “and through support groups and word of mouth, I have been able to touch many women who have learned to take control of their bodies through exercise.”
Encouraged by family and friends, Dorelle tackled the body-building circuit. “It was more a matter of challenging myself. It was something I could control. And with breast cancer any sense of control is good,” she said. In June 2001, in her first-ever competition, she was awarded 2nd place in the Nation's Capital Body Building competition in the novice Grand Masters and Open categories. At the NPC Maryland State show in 2002, she placed 2nd in the Open category.
In 2003, she suffered another setback. She was diagnosed with atypical cancerous cells in her other breast, and underwent her second mastectomy. But by 2004, she was back on the body building circuit and won the East Coast Tournament of Champions lightweight division. Two weeks later she went back to the Maryland State show and won the overall, becoming the NPC Maryland women’s state bodybuilding champion.
In working with breast cancer patients, Dorelle says “I see miracles every day.”
Let Dorelle help you - check out her exercise program
If you want to write to Dorelle, contact her at team@fitnessreinvented.com