Suzanne Porath's Complement 1 Journey
Posted in partnership with Geoffrey Rogow, award-winning financial journalist, author and speaker
My own cancer journey started with a bad workout.
It was early 2013 and I could barely finish a 2-mile run. Within a few weeks, I was having trouble going up the stairs in my office. And by April, I was in a hospital with a blood clot in my neck and 10-by-10 centimeter mass in my chest.
The next four months of treatment, tests and pain are largely a blur. But at every step of the way, I had a team. Doctors who monitored my health after every test and adjusted my dosage after every round. Nurses who administered chemotherapy sometimes around the clock and even a workplace-sponsored health advocate.
Recovery has been much lonelier.
For the past 12 years, I’ve had an experience similar to the millions of other cancer survivors around the world. We are physically and mentally sicker after cancer and many of us miss our team and the daily guidance they provide. Someone to let us know when the aches and pains and setbacks are a big deal, and when they are not. And someone to push us to continue our lives forward.
Suzanne Porath, a 55-year-old Kansas State University literacy professor and Stage 3c breast cancer survivor, says she has found that with Complement 1, a digital lifestyle therapy platform that helps cancer patients and survivors improve their health and their outcomes through behavior modification.
Suzanne started using Complement 1 in May 2024 after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Every morning, her Complement 1 coach, Kshitija, was ready to push her. If she was late, Kshitija would text. There was no escaping the ticking clock of her workout.
Suzanne says there were many mornings she only showed up because of Kshitija. Often, begrudgingly.
“I know that exercise is good for you and it’s especially important for cancer survivors. But I’m not internally motivated,” she says.
In September, Suzanne had to pause for several months because she underwent DIEP flap reconstruction – a surgery where the skin and fat from her abdomen was reconstructed into new breasts.
It’s one of two common options for breast cancer survivors, with the other option being implants. But Suzanne hated her implants and was thrilled to try something else. With DIEP reconstruction, they stretch your skin for months and then later, can even make you a new belly button and nipples.
Some doctors even are able to put nerves back together to improve sensation.
Suzanne says her recovery wasn’t nearly as difficult as it had been for others. During her recovery, she joined a Facebook group for women undergoing DIEP flap reconstruction and it became clear that her recovery was quicker and smoother than most.
Suzanne says she was out of bed quicker, walking independently sooner and back to her life much faster than the other women in the group. She believes Complement 1, and the daily movement and support that came with it, is the main reason.
“My knees were stronger. I had more balance. It really prepared me for my surgery,” she says.
As soon as she could, in January, Suzanne rejoined with her coach.
She said in addition to accountability, she was also thankful for the coach’s expertise as she struggled with how hard to push herself. On the one hand, she had to push herself as hard as she could. On the other hand, she has to learn her new boundaries.
“I grew up on a farm and I used to throw hay bales around. But I just can’t do that stuff anymore,” she says. “One mistake can set you back weeks and months.”
With cancer and DIEP reconstruction behind her, Suzanne is starting to reflect on her broader cancer experience. She says she is still adjusting to this new version of herself following what cancer and the treatments have done to her physically and mentally. And she sees others having to adjust to her as well.
She says that while doctors, nurses and others spent so much time focused on killing her cancer, few have really examined her full life after treatment. She has been working with a lymphatic nurse weekly to help her lumps and bumps. And she has embraced float therapy, which is also known as sensory deprivation therapy, to lower her stress and anxiety.
She’s also started to embrace new functionality added to Complement 1 to further incentivize adherence to the program, saying she appreciates their expanding options and holistic approach to recovery.
“Early in the program, it didn’t have the other stuff. It didn’t have the pathways or gems. They didn’t even have all the videos. Now, I’m trying a lot of it,” she says.
Complement 1 recently added Daily Euphoria, extended meditations and breath work, and Boosters, exercises for neuropathy, posture, lymphedema, and balance. The program continues to expand and is responsive to clients' feedback.
She also plans to get back out on the road. Before becoming a college professor, Suzanne was a medic in the National Guard and had taught all over the world.
In Brasilia, Brazil, she taught for three years. In Lithuania, she stayed for four years, teaching English, history and science for grades six to ten. She last taught overseas in Aruba for three years. For the past eight years, she has lived in Kansas.
Post treatment, she is focusing on getting back out on the road, eager to explore new places and new experiences. An avid scuba diver, she has been back in the ocean enjoying the fish and sting rays.
She and her husband Chris have a big 30-foot trailer that they pull behind a truck. They love being out in the middle of nowhere with their Shetland sheepdog, Nikki.
“We love to go to unusual places to find unusual things,” she says.
