What to Do When a Gym Member Tells You They Have Cancer

It usually happens after class. A member hangs back, waits for the room to clear, and tells you they have cancer.

Your first thought is some version of “what can I do?” That’s the right instinct. The problem is what comes next. Most gym owners either scale the member back to almost nothing, avoid the topic because they’re scared of saying the wrong thing, or organize something big for them without asking first. Each one comes from a good place, but each one can push the member out of the gym, a community and space that’s important to them.

About 1 in 5 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life, according to the World Health Organization. That means, if you run a gym long enough, this conversation is coming.

So, how should you handle it? The short answer: have a private conversation first, bring in a cancer rehab specialist if they’re in active treatment, and then quietly change how your gym runs so they can keep training without being singled out. You don’t need to be the expert. You need to build the environment.

We worked through this on a PushStart webinar in October 2026 with Yani Fish, a CanRehab-trained cancer and exercise rehabilitation specialist and Head of Exercise Oncology at Compete for a Cure. She’s spent nearly a decade doing this work, much of it inside CrossFit gyms. Here’s her process.

Good intentions aren’t a training plan

“I don’t think it’s what [gym owners] get wrong as much as it’s what don’t they know yet,” Yani said.

A bowel cancer diagnosis and a breast cancer diagnosis don’t behave the same way. Chemo can be delivered three or four different ways. Surgery can mean anything from a small lump removed to a mastectomy. So the fact that you trained a relative or another member through treatment years ago doesn’t tell you much about the member standing in front of you now.

That’s why the process starts with a conversation, not a program.

Step 1: Have the private conversation

Find a quiet moment away from the class floor. Thank them for telling you, and tell them they’re not alone. Then ask four questions:

• “What does your treatment plan look like?”
• “If we could do anything to help, what would it be?”
• “Do you want people to know, or should we keep this between us?”
• “Are you OK with the coaches knowing, so we can keep you safe?”

According to Yani, most members answer the second question the same way: “I just don’t want to stop training, but I don’t know where to start.”

Before anything changes, confirm their medical team has cleared them to train.

Step 2: Decide whether you need a cancer rehab specialist

This is the step most gyms skip, and it’s the one Yani pushes hardest. “I witness coaches trying really hard but doing the wrong things,” she said. “You need a cancer rehab specialist on your side.”

Here’s her rule of thumb:

• You can likely handle it like an injury return if the member had a lump removed with no further treatment and their medical team has cleared them. Ease them back in slowly, the way you would after any surgery.
• Bring in a specialist right away if they’re having chemo, radiation, or major surgery like a mastectomy, or if you’re unsure.

A cancer rehab specialist reprograms the member’s training around their treatment and briefs your coaches on what to expect. Online courses can help your staff understand the basics, but as Yani put it, they’re “a resource, not a certification.”

To find one:

1. Contact Compete for a Cure. They support people with breast cancer and can point you to specialists for other cancers too. They also offer a free Breast Cancer Basics for Coaches course for your staff.
2. Contact the charity for that specific cancer and ask if they know a cancer rehab specialist near you.
3. Search “cancer rehab specialist” plus your city or training style.

Step 3: Quietly change how your gym runs

Once a specialist is involved, your job is the environment. Yani’s goal is simple: “They shouldn’t be Sarah with breast cancer. They should be Sarah in the gym.”

In class:

• Use RPE instead of percentages. A member’s strength can change week to week during treatment. A 7 out of 10 on treatment week is still a 7, even if the weight is lighter.
• Don’t scale them back to nothing. Treating a member like they’re “made of glass,” as Yani put it, can hurt their mental health as much as overtraining hurts their body. The American College of Sports Medicine’s exercise guidelines for cancer survivors point the same way: people treated for cancer should “avoid inactivity.”
• Keep them at the same level as the class. If the class is standing, their option is standing. If the class is on the floor, they’re on the floor.
• Check in before class. “Here’s what we’re doing today. How do you feel about it?” Have a similar movement ready if the answer is “not today.”

With your team:

• Brief your coaches, with the member’s OK, on what they might see: changes in appearance, low-energy days, and signs they shouldn’t train today.
• Close the loop with the specialist. At Yani’s gym, the coach sends her a quick voice note after every class with what the member did. She uses it to adjust the next week’s programming, and they retest every eight weeks.

In the space:

• Wipe equipment down before they use it.
• Set up their station before class so their modifications don’t stand out.

“I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn’t,” Yani said. “It’s like a WhatsApp after a class, a meeting every eight weeks, and a conversation about what we can do to make things better.” And once you’ve built it for one member, the process is ready for the next.

What to say (and what not to say)

Yani calls it cancer ghosting. “When people are diagnosed, people just don’t know how to talk to them,” she said. “They’re scared they’re gonna say the wrong thing.” So they say nothing, and the member feels it.

The fix is smaller than most people think:

• Instead of “How are you feeling?” ask “How was your week?” The first question makes them talk about the diagnosis the second they walk in. The second lets them answer however they want.
• Don’t avoid them. Say hello. Talk about the workout, the weather, their weekend. “They are the same person they were when they were diagnosed,” Yani said.
• Let them bring it up. Not every conversation needs to be about cancer.

How to rally your gym without singling them out

Gyms are good at showing up for people. Just ask first. Some members want the support. Some want privacy, and some won’t look any different during treatment, so no one would know unless you told them.

If they’re OK being named, run a fundraiser workout, an in-house comp, or a trivia night for them. Yani’s gym packed in about 300 people for a Halloween trivia night that raised around $1,000 for Compete for a Cure.

If they’d rather keep it private, you still have options. Raise money “for someone close to our hearts,” or quietly cover their membership so cost isn’t a reason to stop coming.

If covering it isn’t realistic, point them to Compete for a Cure’s support programs. For people with breast cancer, the nonprofit offers free 12-week nutrition coaching through Healthy Steps Nutrition, a free 12-week MentalFit mental health program, and a one-time wellness grant of up to $1,250 that can go toward a gym membership. The member applies themselves, and grants take about three to five weeks to process.

And never share a member’s diagnosis without their OK.

You don’t need all the answers

The pressure most owners feel here is that they should know what to do. Yani’s take: you shouldn’t, and that’s fine. “It’s okay to ask someone for help externally,” she said. “Actually, it’s better for the member.”

Your job isn’t to be the oncologist or the specialist. It’s to keep the door open, bring in the right people, and make sure that for the hour they’re in your gym, they get to just be a member.

Get the checklist. Our free Member Diagnosis Checklist puts all three steps on two printable pages. Pin it up in the office. You can also watch the full webinar with Yani, and for more on coaching through treatment, see how to scale workouts for members in cancer treatment.

FAQ

Can someone with cancer keep training at a CrossFit gym?

Often, yes, with their medical team’s clearance and the right support. Yani Fish works with members training through active treatment, including stage 4 cancer. The key is a cancer rehab specialist writing their programming and a gym that adapts quietly around them.

When should a gym refer a member to a cancer rehab specialist?

Right away if they’re having chemo, radiation, or major surgery like a mastectomy. If they had a lump removed with no further treatment and have been cleared, you can usually treat it like a return from surgery.

What should coaches say to a member with cancer?

Ask “How was your week?” instead of “How are you feeling?” and keep talking to them the way you did before their diagnosis. Avoiding them because you’re worried about saying the wrong thing hurts more than an imperfect hello.

This article isn’t medical advice. Always follow the guidance of the member’s medical team and a qualified cancer rehab specialist.