Breast cancer survivor raises money for LOWVELO through yoga classes

LOWVELO is for everyone. This statement is more than just a catchphrase to encourage people to sign up for MUSC Hollings Cancer Center’s annual bike ride fundraiser; it’s a promise that any person who wants to participate is welcome. While the official LOWVELO event is a bike ride, which will be held this year on Nov. 2, the “home team” option offers participants the flexibility to raise funds for lifesaving cancer research by completing any activity they choose.

For instance, Kelsey Harrison isn’t a cyclist, but she’s still participating in this year’s LOWVELO event by teaching donation-based yoga classes.

Harrison, who has been practicing yoga for over 10 years, teaches weekly classes at a local studio, but her primary focus is holding domestic and international retreats through the company she founded: Get Wild Retreats. She is also the co-founder of Live Wild Fest, a Charleston-based health and wellness festival.

 

Her passion for yoga began when she was a teenager, and she loves how challenging it is and how it allows her to connect with herself fully. Harrison also said that yoga saved her life – in more ways than one.

On an otherwise normal day in 2023, while practicing yoga, Harrison noticed a lump in her breast. At only 27 years old, she thought it was unlikely to be cancer. After all, breast cancer mainly occurs in middle-aged and older women – the median age at the time of a breast cancer diagnosis in American women is 62. Despite the statistics, Harrison decided to get checked, just to be safe. She was shocked to hear her diagnosis – Stage 2b breast cancer.

“My first thought was that I'm going to die, right? That's the first thought…then imagining my 3-year-old, he wasn't even 2 yet at the time, so an almost 2-year-old son without a mother. And then, lots of fear and feeling as though I have so much life left to live, and that I'm going to have to miss out on it,” Harrison said.

After the initial shock, Harrison expressed that she felt a lot of fear and anger. She wondered “Why me?” But there wasn’t a clear answer. Her disease wasn’t genetic, and there was nothing specific she had done to blame the cancer on. So, instead, she decided to change her mindset. She asked herself, “What can I do with this? How can I beat it, and how can I use it to help and inspire others?”

After receiving her diagnosis, her family encouraged her to move back to her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, for treatment. Harrison wasn’t sure what to do or where to go, so she reached out to a cousin who had also battled breast cancer for guidance. Her cousin’s No. 1 piece of advice was to seek treatment at a teaching institution, like MUSC. Harrison also had several friends who are nurses with Hollings Infusion Services, so she felt comfortable and safe choosing Hollings for her treatment. “I decided this was the place I was supposed to be,” she said. “There was a community and support here for me.”

 

Harrison endured 18 weeks of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and then radiation to fight her cancer. She is now out of active treatment, but still requires daily medication. She is immensely grateful for her team of doctors, Frank Brescia, M.D.; Kevin Hughes, M.D.; Kevin Delaney, M.D.; and Jennifer Harper, M.D. Above all, though, she appreciates the amazing care she received from the Hollings nurses.

“We had a great experience at Hollings. My doctors were great. They would pivot with us if something wasn't working. But there's something about the nurses – caring for you and supporting you and seeing you week after week, remembering you, checking in with you. Yeah, our nurses were absolutely phenomenal,” she said.

While undergoing treatment at Hollings, Harrison heard about the LOWVELO fundraiser. She was immediately interested and excited about the opportunity to give back to the institution where she received care and to support other cancer patients and survivors. Despite not being a cyclist, she jumped at the chance to get involved. She decided to sign up for the home team and raise funds by holding donation-based yoga classes.

On July 24, Harrison partnered with Synchronicity, a community-based wellness center in Mount Pleasant, for her first LOWVELO fundraiser – “Yoga for Hope: Flowing Together to Fight Cancer.” She led guests in a dynamic, rejuvenating breath-to-movement Vinyasa sequence.

“That was really powerful to be able to teach to a group of people who were somehow impacted by cancer, whether they have a loved one, lost a loved one or they themselves had been fighting cancer. It was very powerful,” Harrison said.

While Harrison is committed to raising as much as possible to support LOWVELO and the lifesaving cancer research it funds, she shared that it is about more than just the money for her. She believes that the physical challenge of participating in LOWVELO mirrors the physical fight that she endured throughout her treatment. In her yoga classes, she often shares how important it is to push yourself and physically overcome difficult things. She sees that same theme represented in LOWVELO and the intense training of the riders.

 

“This is something I say a lot in my classes – we are blessed to be alive and to be able to push ourselves to overcome things physically,” she said.

Harrison’s next donation-based yoga class will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co – 1505 King Street in downtown Charleston. On the same evening, LOWVELO is hosting a training ride, departing from the same location, so any friends or family members of the riders are invited to join her class. Both the ride and the yoga class will end at the same time. The class, held on the green space in front of Edmund’s Oast, welcomes yogis of all experience levels, and donations of any amount are appreciated.

Harrison is incredibly thankful she can give back by teaching yoga and encouraging others to strengthen their bodies and minds. She managed all of her cancer treatments well, has had a good recovery and said she feels fine most days now. She wants to share with others going through the same journey that there is joy on the other side. She also encourages current cancer patients to lean into their people and find their community.

“I teach yoga for LOWVELO because I believe in the community. I believe in healing from cancer, and I believe that we are better together.”

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