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Bradley Rose, 38, is a UK-based Peloton instructor, NASM-certified personal trainer, and actor. He survived a stroke in 2019 and recently went through a cancer scare\u2014and subsequent surgery to remove the benign sarcoma-like growth. Here\u2019s his story, as told to writer Cindy Kuzma.<\/em><\/p>\n At the beginning of February, I woke up with a huge, painful lump on my rib. Just touching it hurt and I couldn\u2019t sleep on that side.<\/p>\n I thought it was a gym-related muscle tweak<\/a>. No big deal.<\/p>\n But the next morning, it was even more painful; it felt like I was being stabbed in the ribs. I literally could hardly breathe and everything felt like a struggle. My wife, Sophia, who\u2019s pregnant with our first child, said, \u201cLook, just go to the doctor. It\u2019s probably nothing, but let\u2019s get it checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n Six years ago, I had a stroke<\/a> when a blood clot traveled to my brain because I was (unknowingly) born with two holes in my heart. At the time, I had a severe headache<\/a> and fatigue but didn\u2019t get checked out straight away. So when my painful lump hadn\u2019t improved after a day\u2014in fact, it got way worse\u2014I knew I needed to get to a doctor.<\/p>\n The doctor said I needed an urgent investigation. He requested for the National Health Service, Britain\u2019s public health care system, to get me into an MRI machine to check things out. He didn\u2019t know exactly what it was, but he did mention the word \u201csarcoma.\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t know what that meant, but I figured it was like a lump or a lipoma. The summer after I started at Peloton, in 2021, I had a little lump on my back. The doctor at the time said, \u201cOh, this is a lipoma. We\u2019ll just pop it out.\u201d The removal was simple, a tiny little incision, and after a few days of recovery I got back to life as normal. That\u2019s kind of what I thought this was.<\/p>\n But this lump was a lot more painful, which had some alarm bells whirling in my head. As I walked out, I googled \u201csarcoma.\u201d And that turned out to be the worst thing to do. I read\u2014and then spiraled. I had a full meltdown as I was walking to work about to teach a Peloton class.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I learned: Sarcoma is a cancer of the bones or soft tissue. It can grow in or around the ribs, among other places. It\u2019s aggressive and difficult to treat. There\u2019s chemotherapy, and sometimes they have to remove ribs. Early detection is key. That was one positive that stuck with me. I had acted fast and was on the path to getting it sorted out.<\/p>\n Two days after that, I got an MRI. I hadn\u2019t been in one of those machines since my stroke. Being strapped down in the narrow chamber brought all those memories rushing back. It\u2019s terrifying being left alone for over an hour in there; your mind goes in all these different directions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That and waiting for the results were the hardest parts. I had to go back to work and smile, be in front of thousands of people on a leaderboard, teach, and pretend everything was okay\u2014but silently, this thing was growing inside of me and I didn\u2019t know what it was.<\/p>\n To make matters worse, my wife is pregnant after many years of infertility<\/a>. While all this was happening, we were in the middle of moving. It was mind-boggling to do it all at once: putting our stuff in storage, bouncing between family\u2019s houses and hotels, living out of a suitcase while dealing with a possible cancer diagnosis and visits to my wife\u2019s midwife.<\/p>\n Looking back on those classes during that time, I don\u2019t think you could tell there was a difference in my work. But even as I was teaching a class, my mind was still like, What if this is cancer? You\u2019ve got a baby on the way. What are you going to do?<\/em> I even feared whether I\u2019d be able to keep my job.<\/p>\n I only told one person at Peloton, and they never put any pressure on me. They said, \u201cYou don\u2019t have to work. You can take the time off. What do you need?\u201d Which was amazing and supportive.<\/p>\n But even though it was tough, I thought, I want to work, to keep busy. I can\u2019t sit at home and stew. I was grateful to go in and have everybody treat me as normal. The doctor said I could take ibuprofen to manage pain, so I was doing that. It was uncomfortable but manageable.<\/p>\n A few days later, Sophia and I went back to the doctor and got my results. The doctor said he didn\u2019t know what it was\u2014the scan was inconclusive. But sarcoma was on the long list of potential diagnoses. Now, I knew a lot more about what that meant, and that it had the potential to spread.<\/p>\n So he gave a few options: We could biopsy it and then remove it if it was something serious, or just leave it and give it a few weeks to see what happens. But from his expertise, he recommended removing it and then doing the biopsy.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t want to test fate; I wanted it out of my body. I couldn\u2019t carry around the stress and worry of leaving it in there. Surgery scares the heck out of me, but after talking with Sophia, I decided to move forward with it. Things moved fast, and it was booked for a few days later.<\/p>\n We moved out of our apartment the day before, which meant we were staying in a hotel the night before the surgery. The following morning, my wife and I checked into the hospital at 8:00 a.m. But emergency surgeries happen, so I didn\u2019t get operated on until 6:00 p.m.<\/p>\n I typically don\u2019t do well after having anesthesia. I throw up a lot<\/a>. I was prepped for a couple of days of hell. I told the anesthetist, and he said, \u201cDon\u2019t worry. I\u2019ll take care of you.\u201d It was the first time I\u2019d ever gone under, woke up, and didn\u2019t feel like I was hungover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Still, staying in a hospital overnight isn\u2019t fun. The beds are so uncomfortable. There\u2019s all the beeping and nurses checking on you. I had a port, a tube draining blood from my rib. My trackers said I got 10 minutes\u2019 sleep the entire night; my Oura Ring<\/a> was not happy with me. When the doctor came in the next day and said I could go home, I was thrilled.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Bradley Rose<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n Even though I was in a lot of pain, I chose not to take opioids<\/a>. I didn\u2019t want the risk of dependence or side effects. My thinking was, even if I\u2019m in more pain, I\u2019m just going to ride that out. I did use lidocaine patches to numb the incision area, which worked well\u2014it felt like my whole side was completely numb.<\/p>\n We went back to my parents\u2019 house. My whole family was nothing but fantastic. My mom would cook and clean and all that sort of stuff, my dad walked the dogs, and my wife dealt with changing the bandages and dressings.<\/p>\n Beforehand, the doctor kept saying this was an easy procedure. I expected a little scar and not much bruising. But when Sophia peeled the bandage off the first time, it looked brutal, like a Bengal tiger or a velociraptor got his claw in and ripped all the way around my rib. It was 10 times, 20 times worse than what we imagined it would be.<\/p>\n Two weeks after surgery, I had to fly to America for my green card. I\u2019m British and my wife is American; we are coming back to the US at some point, so while the timing wasn\u2019t ideal, it needed to get done. Being on a plane didn\u2019t feel great, but I had the patches on and was taking high-grade aspirin to reduce the swelling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We ended up in Washington, DC, for about a week to process my green card. While we were there, we had a video call set up with my doctor to get the results from the biopsy. It was around noon on February 26. There was so much anxiety, sitting there for the call, thinking, What\u2019s this going to be?<\/p>\n When the doctor said that the tumor was benign, relief doesn\u2019t even begin to describe it. I broke down, I cried, I smiled. It was the first time I could breathe in weeks. A weight lifted off my whole body.<\/p>\n A lot of people had been asking what was wrong and why I had been off the platform, not teaching live classes. \u201cHas something happened? Are you leaving Peloton?\u201d Once I knew it was benign, I wanted to be open about what was going on. I took out my phone and recorded myself on the street telling the story<\/a> and what was on my mind.<\/p>\n I\u2019m super grateful for the Peloton community. They\u2019ve been nothing but supportive and lovely. When I first came to Peloton, I didn\u2019t want to talk about my stroke. I didn\u2019t want to seem like I couldn\u2019t do the job as well as anyone else. But then I realized I should<\/em> talk about these things. If someone on the bike is going through the same issues, it can be powerful for them to know they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n Life happens\u2014to all<\/em> of us.<\/p>\n Any awareness we can bring to these topics is a good thing. I\u2019d never heard of sarcoma, but about one in five people<\/a> get some form of cancer now. Before I had a stroke, I thought no one under 60 years old had a stroke\u2014but an increasing number of younger people<\/a> are affected. (For me, anyway, there was no connection between my two conditions.) Sharing my story\u2014and hearing other people\u2019s stories\u2014has been extremely positive.<\/p>\n By the time I shared my story, I was still in pain, but I was feeling better. And beforehand, the doctors had recommended 10 to 14 days off from Peloton after surgery. So when we got home, I returned to work. I was desperate to get back to prove that I was fine, I could do this, and nothing could stop me.<\/p>\n In truth, looking back, I was 100% not ready. I was in pain during workouts. Afterward, my whole bandage would be full of blood.<\/p>\n Thankfully, I had a holiday booked two weeks after my return to teaching, our babymoon in Tenerife. Usually, on holiday, we\u2019re like, \u2018We need to climb this mountain, we need to do this skiing adventure.\u2019 We have 10 things planned every day. But for the first time ever, we did nothing. We read books, sat by the pool and the beach, chatted, got food. It was a great little holiday to have with each other.<\/p>\n Those days allowed me to slow down and let the body and mind heal. I finally got the recovery I needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Healing is never linear, and everyone is different. There\u2019s strength in listening to your body and respecting rest<\/a>. I\u2019m one of these whippersnappers who thinks they are invincible and can push through. But I think this time, when I took that second holiday, I was like, \u2018You do need to pull back, give yourself grace, and allow for recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n Physically, I\u2019m doing a lot better now, two months after my surgery. But I\u2019ve still got a massive scar on my ribs and a lump that\u2019s now about half the size of a Ping-Pong ball. The doctor said the mass has been removed, but sometimes it\u2019s difficult to get the swelling to go away. Aesthetically, especially as a fitness instructor, I feel self-conscious. So we\u2019ll give it three to six months, see how it looks, and then decide about any further treatments.<\/p>\n He kept saying, \u201cAt least it\u2019s not malignant.\u201d And that\u2019s true. The fact that it\u2019s benign is the greatest thing, I feel beyond lucky.<\/p>\n But what I\u2019ve found right now is I\u2019m allowed to be grateful, but I\u2019m also allowed to be traumatized. This wasn\u2019t a small thing; it\u2019s not like I had a cold for a week. Mentally, it screws you up and makes you wonder if there\u2019s something going on in your body that you don\u2019t know about. With everything else going on for Sophia and me, it was kind of like our whole world was crumbling at a time when we were supposed to be celebrating our miracle baby. We were just trying to keep it together.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why, on a mental level, I try to have compassion first. You don\u2019t know what anyone else is going through, and they don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going through.<\/p>\n When you do have a health problem, early detection can save a life. With surgery, know that it\u2019s traumatic for whoever\u2019s going to have it, even when it goes well. Healing is a time game; don\u2019t rush it. And make sure you have a support system you can talk to so you don\u2019t internalize what you\u2019re going through.<\/p>\n Also, remember: Even in a negative situation, there can be a positive outcome.<\/p>\n Who would have thought that a stroke survivor would be on a bike, teaching at one of the biggest fitness companies in the world? My story right now is not what I expected it to be six or seven years ago, but I rewrote it in a whole different way. I\u2019m grateful to still be here, doing what I love, and I will never take my health and life for granted.<\/p>\n Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n