Returning to Ballet After Breast Cancer | Abigail Simon
BALLET SCIENCE PODCAST: EPISODE 70
What happens when a cancer diagnosis changes the body you’ve spent your entire life training?
In this episode, I sit down with former professional ballet dancer Abigail Simon to talk about her experience being diagnosed with breast cancer after a career that included American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey, and Broadway.
Abigail shares what it was like to go from preparing to return to dancing after having a baby to suddenly navigating a breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, fertility preservation, chronic pain, and major changes to her body.
We also talk about something that is especially important for dancers: the need for medical care that considers not only survival, but quality of life and the physical demands of returning to dance. Abigail discusses her rehabilitation, body image, learning to move differently, and ultimately finding her way back to the stage… including performing again en pointe.
We also discuss the emotional aftermath of cancer, losing a sense of purpose, the importance of mental health support, and how dance and community helped Abigail rebuild her life.
Abigail is now continuing to dance, teach, coach, and work with Onco-Ballet, a community for people affected by cancer who want to dance.
