"Surviving is important, but thriving is elegant." That is the motto of Sherry Lebed Davis, one of the founders of The Lebed Method, a program of movement and dance that helps women heal emotionally and physically after breast cancer surgery.

She and her two brothers created the program when their mother became depressed after breast cancer surgery in 1979. Lebed Davis, who was formerly a professional dancer with dance studios, used it nearly 20 years later when she herself underwent surgery for breast cancer.

The method is so effective that it is practiced today in about 600 hospitals worldwide, she said. And because of growing interest, Lebed Davis will be visiting North County this week to provide a three-day certification program for new teachers and to refresh the skills of existing ones.

"We need teachers. California is a big state, and there are a lot of hospitals we need to get into," Davis said.

Two main goals

The Lebed Method helps reduce two common side effects experienced by breast cancer survivors -- frozen shoulder, a surgical complication, and lymphedema, or swelling of the lymph glands.

"Both of these complications result in a decreased range of motion in the upper body. We have found that the … classes prevent or minimize this loss of mobility," wrote Simone R. Zappa, a registered nurse and administrator of the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She was quoted in Radiology Today magazine in 2001.

Locally, the Lebed Method is taught at Sharp Hospital in San Diego by Rancho Bernardo resident Terri Wyatt, a registered nurse and the hospital's oncology case manager. She said the exercise and restoration of mobility are not the only positive results of the class.

"It is a support group. They bond with each other, and there is a lot of camaraderie," she said.

Isobel Chisum of San Carlos, who has been following the program for almost a year now at Sharp Hospital in San Diego, agreed.

She and her husband, Bill, met Lebed Davis on a cruise ship where she was teaching the method. Isobel, 71, had been diagnosed with breast cancer the day before leaving for the cruise and had surgery the day after returning.

"This has helped with lymphedema (swelling), plus it is uplifting and very much fun, and it's great that my husband can come and support me," she said.

Open to all

Classes are not limited just to breast cancer survivors. "We open the classes to the community," Wyatt said. According to the Lebed Method Web site, classes are also offered at fitness centers, dance centers, churches and wellness centers nationally.

Other local sites include Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla; the U.S. Naval Hospitals at Camp Pendleton and in San Diego; the Green Cancer Center in La Jolla; and through the California Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Laurie Mort, who teaches the method at Inner Strength Yoga in Oceanside, said it is very gentle exercise.

"Another byproduct of the program is that it creates a positive environment and positive reinforcement, which is a big part of the program as well," Mort said.

And positive reinforcement is important. Lebed Davis recalled how devastated her mother had been after her cancer surgery.

"My mom used to be a ballroom dancer with my dad, and after surgery she couldn't hook her bra and she couldn't brush her hair. She was from that era of Marilyn Monroe, when breasts were a symbol of sexuality. She went into a crash kind of depression."

A family creation

Lebed Davis's two brothers, Marc and Joel Lebed, both surgeons at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, wanted to help their mom.

"They said, 'Let's all get together: You bring the dance and we will put together a program that is medically sound,' " said Lebed Davis. "So we put together a program for my mom.

"Our house was always filled music and dance. That is how my brothers were raised, and they always felt there was more to medicine than just medicine."

The results were so impressive that her mother's doctor wanted to know what she was doing and adopted the program at Einstein.

In 1996, Lebed Davis underwent surgery for breast cancer.

"Recovery was very hard for me. I couldn't move my arm. I called up my brother and said 'I'm so depressed. I don't know what to do.' He said, 'Sherry. Do your program.' It was like, 'Duh.' "

That experience convinced her to quit her job as director of marketing for a health care company and devote herself full-time to the Lebed Method.

Since then, she said, the program has helped thousands.

Lebed Davis will teach Wyatt's class at 10 and 11 a.m. on Thursday at the outpatient pavilion at Sharp Hospital, 3075 Health Center Drive, San Diego. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sept. 16, she will give the certification class at Inner Strength Yoga, 2124 El Camino Real, Oceanside.

The cost of the three-day class is $500, but scholarships are available to those who might not be able to afford the full fee. Those interested in taking the class for instructors need no prerequisites, Lebed Davis said, and no special skills other than wanting to help others not just to survive, but to thrive.

"To me, surviving is just barely holding on," Lebed Davis said.

For more information, call (877) 365-6014 or visit www.lebedmethod.com.

Patty McCormac is a freelance writer.