Healthtrax Comeback Story Winner!

Tim K. Glastonbury Member

I have been swimming since I was 12 years old and it has always been a big part of my life, first as a competitive swimmer when I younger and then as my main exercise for both physical and mental health.

In August 2021 a month before my 63rd birthday, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer and underwent surgery to remove tumors covering approximately 50 percent of my bladder. The cancer was high grade and aggressive but treatable and my surgery was followed up immediately by 6 weeks of immunotherapy treatments to help to prevent the cancer from recurring. I was completely devastated and suffered from severe anxiety as well as the effects of the surgery and immunotherapy treatments through Fall 2021, losing 15 pounds and much of my fitness.

Gradually, I worked my way back to better health mostly through lots of walking, but swimming was still missing. After swimming every week for most of 50 years, I had been out of the water for nearly 7 months. The urge to get back to it was strong and in March 2022 I joined Healthtrax and returned to swimming. It was wonderful to be back in the pool, not just for the exercise but for mental health benefits and the camaraderie of the other swimmers. Today I am swimming 3 days a week., I am physically and mentally healthy, and enjoying life as a cancer survivor.

I don’t know what the future holds but swimming at Healthtrax has been fantastic and a big part of my return to good health. Thank you for this opportunity to tell my story.

-Tim K.