An Insight into the Area We Live in

Exciting Project for Cancer Survivors &
their Families BY CIARA BERESFORD
The East Galway & Midlands Cancer Support Centre
is the first in the country to offer a new health fitness
programme to their members.
Marie Murphy is a woman who has excelled in many aspects of life - in
her career, as an athlete and also as a person. Through many years of hard
work, research and experience, Marie has put together a full programme
of physical activities, called ‘The Murphy (METs) Programme’, which is
specifically designed to cater for each cancer patient and their restrictions
and to reduce the chance of recurrence from 50% up to 90%.
In Marie’s earlier days as an athlete in Ireland, she was awarded a
track and field scholarship to America. While living stateside, she was
devoted to athletics both in college and to her Olympic ambition to
represent Ireland, which she accomplished as a marathon runner in
the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Marie graciously wanted to give back to her sport, therefore took a job
as an athletics head coach in St Louisville High School in Los Angeles, a
private girls’ school, which is affiliated with the St Louis High School in
Rathmines, Dublin, “I felt right at home.”
The following number of years were spent primarily in the field of
breast cancer during which she consulted Dr Susan Love - an author
and researcher of breast cancer - which opened many doors for Marie
from a medical aspect and she went on to hold positions as Cardio
Vascular & Strength Consultant for UCLA David Geffen School of
Medicine and Consultant Exercise Specialist Simms-Mann UCLA Centre
for Integrative Oncology.
In 2009, Marie returned home to Ireland. Within a few months her programme
‘The Murphy (METs) Programme’ was picked up
by the Irish Cancer Society, where she was
contracted to carry out five pilot studies – three
in breast, one in bowel and one in prostate
cancer. The successful results of the first three
studies, ‘The Murphy (METs) Programme: The
Irish Experience of Delivering Physical Activity
for Cancer Survivors’ has since been published
and acknowledged by the American Institute
of Cancer Research (AICR) in 2012.
Once Marie compiled the full programme
and training manuals, she got in contact
with Jacqueline Daly, Director of the East
Galway & Midlands Cancer Support Centre here locally.
Marie arrived in Ballinasloe to present her full ‘Murphy (METs)
Programme’ to the Centre, where they have all been trained adequately
to facilitate their patients with the programme. Currently using a multi
purpose space ;“A purpose gym will eventually be built on site to help
implement the new programme both easily and conveniently for all
members”, stated Jacqueline.
Because Marie is dealing with patients who are restricted with the type of
treatment they’re receiving, she alters and designs the programme around
each individual patient. The programme consists of cardiovascular activity,
which is a walking programme where the patient walks for three days a
week. It also includes resistance training, consisting of 10 upper and lower
body exercises using a form of weight, as well
as nutrition plans. “What I love about it is it’s so
do-able, it’s not rocket science. The nutrition
plans use ordinary food – there’s no fancy
supplements required”, added Jacqueline.
BRODERICK’S
PHARMACY
Society Street
Ballinasloe
“I have worked towards this moment for
many years; to finally teach others to teach
my programme safely and effectively
and it is my goal for the ‘Murphy (METs)
Programme’ to expand to other centres
across the country so that a greater number
of cancer survivors can reap its benefits”,
concluded Marie.
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Jacqueline Daly, Director, Marie Murphy and
Liam Loughrey, Chairman signing forms for the
Murphy METs Programme.
Chairman Liam Loughrey, and Marie Murphy alongside Director
Jacqueline Daly, Ailish Ryan and Anne Bruen, who received their
certificate in METs Cardiovascular, Resistance and Nutrition training.
COMMUNITY 21