All Episodes

August 14, 2024 16 mins
Nature grounds us, brings us back to center. Dr Kelly McLean is a general surgeon at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. She combines her love of being in nature with helping breast cancer survivors heal. The scars are often physical and all the time emotional. Learn about Move Beyond Surviving, a grass-roots non-profit she started with her own investment to take women on trips [at no cost] in the Cincinnati area to reconnect with their bodies, their minds and nature. 

Click here to find out more about Move Beyond Surviving.
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This week on iHeart Sinsey.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
You didn't choose to get breast cancer. You didn't choose
to be in this fight.

Speaker 3 (00:08):
But you can choose.

Speaker 4 (00:10):
To either let it destroy you or to become a better, more.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Beautiful, more powerful form of yourself.

Speaker 5 (00:19):
We talk a lot about breast cancer on this show.
It's a fact of life that all women face and
some guys too well. We haven't talked about what comes
after a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment until today. Doctor
Kelly McLain is the founder of a group that brings
cancer survivors together, using nature and all of its beauty
to reconnect with their bodies after the ravages of chemo

(00:41):
and surgery. Doctor McLain calls the group move beyond Surviving.
Today we'll talk about the adventures she creates for folks
at no cost to help those breast cancer survivors.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
And later, you know, you can actually lose consciousness, and
you can imagine if you're driving a car and that happens,
be catastrophic.

Speaker 5 (00:59):
Today you'll hear from that doctor and a young athletic nurse,
a recent Right State grad living a healthy, happy life.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
And then and I started having really intense like trust.

Speaker 5 (01:09):
Been Jessica Seward is sharing her story in hopes of
helping others recognize medical warning signs. And doctor Robert Cowell
from Medtronic, a medical device maker, is here on the
advancements in science that's saving and enhancing the lives of
people of all ages.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Now on iHeart Sinsey with Sandy Collins.

Speaker 5 (01:28):
This is iHeart Cincy, a show for the community to
find the resources needed to solve many issues that we
face and share stories then in bold and uplift people
here in the Tri State. So, doctor Kelly McLain, thanks
for being on the show. We're going to talk about
your organization move Beyond Surviving, which is such an inspirational

(01:49):
concept and a great help for people with breast cancer.
But I do want to talk to you a little
bit about how you got into medicine, how you became
a doctor, and your little backstory where you're from.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
So I'm originally from Michigan, and growing up I always
loved the outdoors.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
I love to be active.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
I didn't grow up in an outdoors active family, though,
so many of those opportunities I had to learn on
my own and really kind of find opportunities to do them.
So I definitely grew up with an appreciation of how
difficult it can be to just initiate doing some of
these activities, and also all the wonderful things and experiences

(02:35):
that it brought to me. So I always carried that
with me, and for really the longest time, I thought
about being an outward bound instructor, leading people into the
outdoors and getting them comfortable with things. I also always
had a love for science and math, and so when

(02:56):
it came time to decide which path to go, I
went into medicine. And the further I've gotten into it
and the further I've gotten to do exactly what i
wanted to do, the more I love it.

Speaker 5 (03:10):
So you talked about the outdoors and being out there
and how being in the outdoors can really be good
for your physical, your emotional, your mental state, your strength.
You combined your love of the outdoors with your expertise,
which is a breast cancer. Tell me how you created

(03:31):
Move Beyond Surviving, what the reason was for it, and
what you actually do with the survivors of breast cancer
that join you on these great trips.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
We have made huge strides in treating breast cancer.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
People are surviving it they're living a long time past
their diagnosis.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Some people have metastatic disease are living a long time
with chronic disease as opposed to it all being acute treatment,
and people are looking to get back to a normal
life a way of living. However, these advances don't come

(04:18):
without a price. Our treatments really aggressive surgery physically changes people.
Medicines can cause people to gain weight. They can cause
neuropathy so people can't feel their's fingers or toes.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
They can have balance issues, Radiation.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Titans muscles so that people have decreased range of motion.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
They can get swelling limphidima of their arms.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Not to mention the emotional and physical toll being diagnosed
with a threatening disease can have on someone at any age.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
And so when they're going through treatment, they're.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
In the intense fight and it's very similar to being
at war. And then they would finish and they'd be
pronounced no evidence of disease, and everyone's elated. And at
the same time, then there's this stark contrast where now, okay,

(05:24):
you're a survivor, you're supposed to survive, you're supposed to
go on with your life and you're kind of lost
as to who you are, what you're able to do anymore.
You feel very vulnerable, And it actually is very similar
to PTSD soldiers coming home from war, where they should feel.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
Safe, but they'd just lost.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
And so I took this love of outdoors and the
experiential learning that I had seen like outward Bound, how
it can bring back a sense of self, and applied
it to what I was seeing.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
Breast cancer survivors going.

Speaker 5 (06:08):
Through movieon Surviving is a way for individuals that have
finished breast cancer treatment. Is that correct? You have to
be done yet well?

Speaker 2 (06:21):
So I say any age, any stage that's at a
stable level in their treatment. So people who have metastatic
disease may be in chronic treatment. People who have hormone
receptor positive disease may still be taking their hormone blockers.

Speaker 3 (06:41):
But they're through they're acute phase of treatment.

Speaker 5 (06:44):
Got it? Tell me about these trips that you plan
and how often they happen, and just kind of an
overview of how much fun you have.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Yeah, So the original trips I partnered without word Bound
in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen. We did a five day,
four night backpacking whitewater rafting, rock climbing trip in North
Carolina and the Pisca National Forest outside of Asheville.

Speaker 3 (07:10):
And it was amazing.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
We had nine survivors the first year and sixth the
second year, and we challenged people in all sorts of ways.
We challenged people physically, We challenged people with how they
source help from others, with how they source strength from themselves.

Speaker 3 (07:32):
They were both amazing, transformable trips.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
What came out of that is that one I was
funding it myself and I realized I'm not going to
be able to keep funding this, and two that while
five days out is irreplaceable, not everyone is able to
get away for that period of time.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
Not everyone is able to spend five days out in
the outdoors.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
And a lot of people, while they thought it was fabulous,
were intimidated by it. So in twenty twenty two we
started a nonprofit. We do day long, half day trips
that are accessible from Cincinnati, but it's open to anyone

(08:23):
to get more people in, to make the outings more
accessible and less intimidating to people of all levels.

Speaker 5 (08:35):
Well, I would imagine having breast cancer. You feel awful
for quite some time, and the idea of actually being
you know, physical and pushing your body at some point
is probably intimidating. What do you say to people that say,
I'd love to go out, but I'm not sure I
can keep up.

Speaker 4 (08:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:54):
One of our mottos is don't limit your challenges, challenge
your limits, and it's all about getting back in touch
with your body and what you are able to do in.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
A safe and supportive environment.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
So, first of all, I'm very familiar with breast cancer
treatment and the limitations after surgery and medications. It's a
bunch of breast cancer survivors, so while everyone's journeys their own,
everyone is familiar with similar experiences. And also we partner

(09:31):
with Miami University's Outdoor Pursuit Centers, so they bring all
the technical expertise safety, they're trained to take care of
people and to introduce people to activities.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
So we try and yeah, it's been very helpful. They're
a great partnership.

Speaker 2 (09:51):
We try and design each activity to have varying levels
to it so that people can do as much or
as little as they feel comfortable and.

Speaker 3 (10:07):
Progressively do more.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
So we try and always make sure there's an out
for people if they're tired, or if they think that
it's beyond what they feel comfortable doing. And we always
have multiple instructors there the ratio with a comfortable I
think the ratio is one instructor to every four or

(10:31):
five students. So if something happens or someone needs to
go slower than other people, we can accommodate that.

Speaker 5 (10:39):
So one instructor for four or five participants here in
this case. Yeah, so, doctor Kelly. The next question people
have is can I afford this? How could I be
a part of this? What do you tell people when
these breast cancer survivors say I want to be a
part of Move Beyond Surviving.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
So all of the events are free. What we do
is we ask for a twenty five dollars refundable deposit
as a commitment of intent to participate, and as long
as you show up, then you get the twenty five
dollars deposit back. Many people have chosen to donate that

(11:20):
back to the organization. We are a nonprofit, so we
do run on donations and many people think look at
it and say, well, it doesn't cost anything to go
out hiking. But since we work with Miami University's Outdoor
Pursuit Center, we do pay for their expertise, and so

(11:42):
we do pay a certain amount per participant. They provide
all of the technical equipment, so if we need backpacks,
if we need kayaks, if we need life jackets, they
provide all of that.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
People do need to provide their own.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
Like hike shoes or personal gear, so that can be
an expense.

Speaker 5 (12:06):
If you just tuned in, I'm talking with doctor Kelly McLain,
who is the founder and board president of Move Beyond
Surviving dot org. This nonprofit organization collects breast cancer survivors,
takes them outdoors and helps them reconnect with their soul
if you will, would you say, was that too far
to go with that? No?

Speaker 3 (12:26):
I think that's perfect.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
So Move Beyond Surviving our initials are MBS and that
also stands for mind Body Spirit, So I again, yeah,
we don't want people to just make it through treatment
and then be going along in a fog.

Speaker 3 (12:44):
We want people to rediscover who they are.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
So our initial logo was a double headed battle axe,
which is a symbol of the Amazon women and women
taking control of their lives.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
We became a nonprofit, we changed that.

Speaker 6 (13:02):
We changed it to a Phoenix rising cause I felt
that the battle acts just resembled that people were still
stuck in the fight and.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
The phoenix is rising from the ashes.

Speaker 3 (13:19):
So you didn't choose to get breast cancer.

Speaker 2 (13:21):
You didn't choose to be in this fight, but you
can choose to either let.

Speaker 4 (13:27):
It destroy you or to become a better, more beautiful,
more powerful form of yourselves and rise from the ashes.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
So definitely it helps bring people out people's soul.

Speaker 5 (13:42):
Sounds like a beautiful opportunity for people that are living
with breast cancer and a is there anything that you need?
Can we solicit for some donations? How do we help
out the organization and how do folks find out when
your next trips are?

Speaker 3 (14:00):
Yeah, we love it. We have a Facebook page, move
Beyond Surviving.

Speaker 2 (14:05):
We also have a website www dot move Beyond Surviving
dot org and you can donate through the website and
we do work.

Speaker 3 (14:18):
Off of donations. Currently, we do about one trip per month.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
We announce it on the website and the link will
be available on the Facebook page. We also have contact
information so if someone's interested, they can contact us and
we can let them know when things are going to
open up or they could join the group.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
You know, we've only been around for two years.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
It's phenomenal the response that we've already gotten. In the future,
i'd love to have more than one trip, you know,
open at a time.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
I'd love to have more than one at a in
a month.

Speaker 2 (14:57):
That also would allow us to address different levels of
comfort and ability.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
We do all kinds of activities.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
We've gone hiking, we've gone skiing, we've gone horseback riding, kayaking, sailing,
I mean, the list goes on, and we're open to
suggestions for that.

Speaker 5 (15:16):
And that's in this immediate area. What do you say
a couple of hour drive correct.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
So again open to anyone from anywhere. We've had people
from Michigan, Columbus, Indiana, Kentucky.

Speaker 3 (15:30):
We do choose the.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
Places assuming that someone's based in Cincinnati. So within a
couple of hour drive. We've gone to Red River Gorge,
Hawking Hills. We work in Oxford with Miami University.

Speaker 5 (15:46):
Great doctor Kelly McLain, the founder and board president of
move Beyond Surviving dot org, thank you so much for
being on the show.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
Thank you, thank you for having me, and thank you
for highlights coming up.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
You know, you can actually lose consciousness and you can
imagine if you're driving a car and that happens be catastrophic.

Speaker 5 (16:10):
That's next on iHeart Sinsey
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc.