Last October, Incline Village resident and business owner Debra Fishman hosted an open-house for cancer survivors. This October, she intends to be one of them.

In May, Fishman, who owns and manages The Perfect Workout gym and pilates studio, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She underwent a full hysterectomy in June and began chemotherapy treatment earlier this month.

"I'm keeping a positive attitude because I know there are people who have it far worse than I do," she said. "These things sometimes happen to us whether we are healthy or not ... (but) being healthy makes a huge difference in terms of recovery."

Fishman's doctors are inclined to agree, and credit her relatively light symptoms and quick recoveries to the healthy diet and exercise regime she's kept since she and her husband, Stu, opened The Perfect Workout 11 years ago.

"It bothers me that I can't be working ... I've been a real work-a-holic, and this has actually given me a chance to sit back and smell the roses," she said.

Indeed, Fishman and her husband have used the time her illness has offered to reevaluate their lives and the reasons they originally moved into the basin. Fishman says that both of them have been too busy to ski in recent years, which was one of the primary reasons they came here originally.

Additionally, Fishman has been amazed by the amount of support she's received from her friends and the community at large. Fishman said the experience has made her much more appreciative of both her old and her new friends.

Though Fishman currently looks like a model of health and fitness and is walking more than two miles a day in addition to doing a light home workout, she expects that to change after her chemo session this week. Not only does she expect to feel sick for at least a few days afterwards, she expects to lose most of her hair - she's already scheduled an appointment with her hairdresser to completely shave her head.

Fishman says that she cannot over emphasize how important it is for both men and women to get their yearly check-ups. Additionally, she emphasizes the importance of a CA-125 blood test, which tests for ovarian cancer and is not part of a standard oncological exam.

Fishman's next chemotherapy session is scheduled for Thursday. While she's not certain whether or not she'll be able to participate in the Relay for Life Friday, she hopes to attend it anyway.



Staff writer Tom Meyer can be reached at 831-4666 ext. 112 or at tmeyer@tahoebonanza.com.