Miranda Esmonde-White’s Personal Fight with Breast CanceR.

There are many women who have used their personal experience with breast cancer to help others conquer the disease both mentally and physically.  Miranda Esmonde-White, best known for her PBS TV show and video series, Classical Stretch – The Esmonde Technique, is one of these women.  Because of her personal experience with breast cancer, she was inspired to use her special talents to help other women re-gain the full use of their arms after the initial surgery.

After having a stage 1 malignant melanoma removed from her arm in 1998, she wasn’t prepared for the shocking diagnosis of breast cancer less than 1 year later.  To make matters worse, she had just signed her first deal with PBS to tape a series of Classical Stretch TV shows.  The surgery was to be performed 6 weeks before she was scheduled to tape the first 15 shows. Because the lump was large and fast growing, her surgeon was worried as to the seriousness of her cancer. He warned her of the possibilities of a mastectomy, followed by an aggressive protocol of both chemotherapy and radiation. The treatment he was proposing would cause her to lose the full mobility of her arm, lose her hair, and be exhausted and unable to work for the best part of the year. She felt her life was over.

After further examination it was discovered that her cancer had been completely contained within the large lump, eliminating the need for chemotherapy. This meant that only the surgery and radiation were required!But the surgery was still difficult; she was unable to raise her arm above her waist and was left with a painful underarm disfiguration.As a woman whose life revolves around dancing, stretching and exercise she felt completely paralyzed. 

The entire experience of cancer: the loss of control of life, the sense of dependency, the helplessness, the not knowing what was going to happen next, the fears, dealing with the unknown, all became too overwhelming sending Miranda into an emotional tailspin.  She had always been able to deal with every other adversity, this was the first time she felt defeated. She went through a severe personality change becoming reclusive and depressed.

Every cancer story is very personal; they are the stories of each person’s fight.  During her convalescence Miranda took a great deal of solace and comfort by talking with cancer survivors. Having them share their experiences helped her find the way out of her own depression and fears. 

As a result of this, she worked very closely with her oncologist and physiotherapist to develop Classical Stretch exercises specifically for breast cancer survivors.  She used her own experience as well as other patient’s to develop specific exercises that would increase the range of motion in the arm, chest and shoulder and eventually help regain full movement in the arm.  Together with her daughter Sahra, she produced the Breast Cancer Rehabilitation Post Surgery DVD.  They have since worked together to increase awareness of both the DVD and the importance of rehabilitation.

Miranda fully recovered her mobility in time to begin taping her first television series “Classical Stretch”. 

Brief Bio

Miranda left home at the young age of ten to join the renowned National Ballet School in Toronto, Canada.  After graduating, she went on the join the company, The National Ballet of Canada, and toured internationally in productions such as Swann Lake & Romeo and Juliet. After leaving the company, she opened her own dance and fitness center where she began developing Classical Stretch.   She is currently the head stretch coach to professional and Olympic level athletes, she is creator and co-producer of her TV show which airs in North America via PBS, with her DVD series selling throughout North America.  Through all this, her passion lies in helping breast cancer patients around the world learn to rehabilitate both physically and mentally.