FITBODY Pink® Success Story
How Shannon Got Stronger Than She Was Before Cancer
Diagnosed at 44 with invasive ductal carcinoma. She went through a lumpectomy, then radiation, and now Tamoxifen, with a body that felt less like her own every month. Six months of coaching later, she was faster and stronger than she had been in her 20s.
“I am even faster and stronger than I was in my 20s.”
Start Your Own TransformationAge & Location
45, Aurora, Colorado
Timeframe
6 months
What Changed
Weight below her pre-treatment starting point, muscle regained, inches off her waist and hips, and a body that felt like an athlete again
Biggest Win
Faster and stronger than she had been in her 20s, on Tamoxifen
Shannon came to me about a year after her diagnosis. Breast cancer ran in her family. Her mom, her paternal aunt, and her maternal aunt had all faced it in their early 40s, so when a screening at 44 caught invasive ductal carcinoma in her right breast, it was something she had lived in the shadow of for a long time. That did not make it any easier to hear. The one bit of good news was that they caught it early, which meant a lumpectomy instead of a full mastectomy and radiation instead of chemo.
Shannon was already an athlete long before any of this. Soccer and basketball as a kid, sports all through high school and college, then years of weightlifting and bodybuilding as an adult. She had put in the work to build a lean, strong body and she knew it inside and out. Then treatment happened. The exhaustion, the pain from surgery and the radiation burns, the exercise restrictions, and then treatment induced menopause once Tamoxifen started. It all stacked up. By the time treatment was behind her, she was at the highest weight of her life and most of her muscle was gone.
“I had tried discussing my weight gain concerns with the oncology dietician and my oncologist, but it seemed like no one had solutions.”Shannon Stillman, 45, Aurora, CO
Six months into working together, Shannon’s weight was lower than it had been when she started treatment. She had put real muscle back on. She had lost inches off her waist and hips. And the fitness numbers she had chased for years were now past her personal bests from her 20s. Same medication, same body, completely different result.
Losing a Body You Worked Hard to Build
When a woman who has never trained loses ground during treatment, that is hard. When a woman who spent decades building a strong, athletic body loses it, that is hard in a different way. Shannon knew exactly what her body used to be able to do, so she could feel exactly what was missing. Every time she looked in the mirror, she saw the gap between the athlete she had been and where treatment had left her.
On top of that, everything that used to work had stopped working. The training that made her strong in her 30s was not getting the same response. The nutrition that kept her lean was leaving her worn out. That was not a lack of effort on her part. It is what happens when a body goes through menopause suddenly instead of over years and then stays there on hormone therapy. The rules change, and if the plan does not change with them, all that effort just wears you down.
Shannon was doing everything she had always done and none of it was working. That is where so many survivors end up, and it is where the doubt starts to feel permanent.
What We Changed for Shannon
Shannon did not need to work harder, and she did not need to be told to be patient. She needed a plan built for the body she actually has now, on Tamoxifen, in treatment induced menopause, with years of training history that could work in her favor if we used it right. We changed three things.
First, I rebuilt her strength training around her current physiology instead of the body she used to have. That meant setting her volume, load, and recovery for a body that no longer bounces back the way it did at 30. Because she had all those training years behind her, we could add load faster than I would with a beginner. Her muscle remembered how to grow. It just needed the right stimulus.
Second, nutrition. Hers was macro based, protein forward, and built to fuel real training instead of starving her into fat loss. You can build muscle on Tamoxifen, but it takes enough food to support it. Under eating is the mistake almost every woman on this medication makes, because the old advice always says the answer is less. It is not. The answer is the right amount of the right foods, adjusted week to week as her body responded.
Third, and this one matters as much as the training and the food, Shannon needed someone who understood the difference between an athlete’s body and a post treatment body and could speak to both. I have taken Tamoxifen every day, twice, and I trained through my own diagnosis. When Shannon told me something felt off, I believed her and we adjusted. That kind of trust is not a nice extra in this work. It is the work.
“Julie has taught me how to eat to fuel my body and revamped my training to work with my body’s current needs. The training and nutrition that worked in my 20s and 30s were no longer effective, and Julie has helped me understand what will work for me now.”Shannon Stillman, 45, Aurora, CO
The Wins That Told Her Her Body Was Responding Again
The scale was only part of the story. What Shannon cared about, like most athletes, was what her body could actually do. That is where six months of coaching told the whole story.
- Weight lower than when she started breast cancer treatment
- Muscle gained back after treatment losses
- Inches lost from her waist and hips
- Faster than she had been in her 20s
- Stronger than she had been in her 20s
- Confidence back in a body she thought was gone
For a woman who had spent her whole life reading her body’s signals, every one of those mattered. She was not just smaller or lighter. She was capable again, in a way she recognized. That is the difference between a quick diet result and a real change, and it is the kind that lasts.
The Hardest Part Was Not the Work
Shannon has said this herself, and I hear some version of it from almost every survivor who comes to me. She had already been told, by people she trusted, that there were no answers. The oncology dietician did not have a solution for the weight gain. Her oncologist did not either. She was basically being asked to accept a body that no longer felt like hers and move on.
The hardest part of Shannon’s journey was not the training or the food. It was getting past that quiet message that this was just how things were going to be now. Once she stopped believing that and started following a plan built for her body on this medication, the change she had been told was not possible showed up quickly.
“What sets Julie apart is her compassion, empathy, and deep knowledge. I can be honest about my struggles, and she’s always responsive and understanding.”Shannon Stillman, 45, Aurora, CO
If Your Body Feels Like It Has Stopped Responding
Shannon’s story speaks to a specific fear. Not the fear that you cannot lose weight, but the bigger one underneath it, that your body has been changed too much to respond to anything at all. That all the training you did before treatment does not count for anything now. That the medication took the version of you that used to work.
“Julie has given me hope that I can regain control of my body even while on Tamoxifen.”
Shannon Stillman, 45, Aurora, COEverything your body could do before treatment is still in there. It just needs a plan built for who you are now, and someone who knows the difference.
What She Is Building Now
Shannon is not treating six months as the finish line. She has nine and a half more years on Tamoxifen ahead of her, and now she has the tools and the plan to keep training right through them. She knows what her body needs to hold onto muscle, keep her weight where she wants it, and keep the confidence she rebuilt. She has completely rewritten what she thought hormone therapy would do to her fitness.
“That’s a glimpse into my cancer and health journey, a mix of challenges and triumphs, and the hope that comes from finding the right support and guidance.”Shannon Stillman, 45, Aurora, CO
The Questions Women Ask About Shannon’s Story
Can you actually build muscle on Tamoxifen?
Yes. It takes the right training stimulus and enough food to support recovery, and it happens more slowly than it would off hormone therapy, but building muscle on Tamoxifen is absolutely possible. Shannon put real muscle back on in six months while staying on the medication the whole time. The two things that matter most are progressive strength training that keeps giving your muscles a reason to grow, and a macro based nutrition plan with enough protein and total calories to fuel that growth. Under eating is the biggest mistake I see, because you end up starving the very thing you are trying to build.
Is it really possible to be stronger after cancer than before it?
Yes, and Shannon is proof. She had trained for decades before her diagnosis, but the strength numbers she hit at 45 on Tamoxifen were past her bests from her 20s. Part of that is simply that a well built adult strength program works better than the training a lot of women did in their 20s. Part of it is that rebuilding after a real loss brings a level of focus most of us never had the first time around. And your body, given the right plan, is far more resilient than the fear tells you it is.
How long did Shannon’s turnaround actually take?
Six months of consistent coaching. That timeline matters because it is not a quick fix window, but it is not endless either. Shannon had a base of training years underneath her, so her body responded faster than a woman with no training history would, but the same principles hold for every survivor. Six months of the right plan, followed consistently, is enough to change how a body looks and what it can do, even on hormone therapy.
Do I need to already be an athlete for this to work?
Not at all. Shannon had years of training in her body, which gave her some advantages, but every woman I coach starts where her body actually is. If you have never lifted a weight, we start there. If you have not moved much in years, we build the base first. The plan meets you where you are and grows with you. What matters is not your starting point, it is the consistency and the right progression from there.
What if my oncology team has already told me there is nothing they can do about the weight?
This is what Shannon heard, and it is what a lot of survivors are told, because weight management on hormone therapy is not really what oncology is built for. Your medical team is doing lifesaving work, and that is the priority, always. Coaching lives in a different lane, focused on building lean muscle, fueling the body correctly, and rebuilding metabolic health inside the guidance your medical team has given you. Always keep your care team in the loop on what you are doing and confirm your clearance to exercise. But “no” is not the same as “impossible.”
What makes FITBODY Pink® different from regular fitness coaching?
FITBODY Pink® is coaching built specifically for women rebuilding after breast cancer, from a coach who takes Tamoxifen every day herself and has trained through her own diagnosis twice. It uses the same structure as my FITBODY Recomposition System™, progressive strength training, nutrition that fuels rather than restricts, and consistent progress tracking, but it is calibrated for a body that has been through treatment. You get guided correctly, never handled like you are fragile, and you get the honesty of a coach who has lived the same medication and the same fears.
Your Comeback Starts Here
Your Body Has Not Stopped Answering
Julie Lohre is an IFBB Fitness Pro, Certified Personal Trainer, and Certified Nutrition Specialist with 20+ years of experience, and a two time breast cancer survivor on Tamoxifen. If you have been told your body was done responding, Shannon’s start can be yours too.
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