NICEVILLE — While undergoing treatment for stage 3 colon cancer, there were days Gloria Overfield felt too sick to get out of bed. But on her good days the fitness instructor led her classes with the same amount of humor and enthusiasm — just with a port protruding from her body.
“No one had a good reason not to come to class,” Overfield joked.
Her experience fighting three different types of cancer drove Overfield to ensure her classes were a positive, fun and uplifting.
“If they don’t feel good and they come to my class for the hour, I feel privileged,” she said.
Overfield, 62, has worked in fitness for about 30 years. She always found herself drawn to music and moving. With a family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart problems, she knew she needed to stay fit.
Discovering she had colon cancer in 1997 came as a shock to her with her healthy eating and exercise habits. She had also just won third place in the Sunshine Body Building competition.
“It can hit anybody,” Overfield said of the disease.
Looking back, she said she waited too long to seek help for the increasing stomach problems and severe pain she felt after certain exercises.
The cancer already had begun to spread. Doctors gave her a 40 percent chance of surviving. She underwent chemotherapy, radiation and numerous surgeries.
She still feels the cancer’s effects. She has undergone surgeries for blockages and scar tissue in her reworked colon.
“It’s no big deal,” Overfield said. “Everybody has something.”
In 1999, her husband noted that a mark on her nose had shrunk when she underwent chemotherapy, only to return when the treatment stopped. Her doctor took a sample and found basal cell carcinoma. Doctors cut the cancer away, but Overfield needed reconstruction surgery on her nose.
In 2002, she discovered a knot in her right breast. Unlike her colon cancer battle, she went straight to the doctor. When she was asked to stay to speak to him after a sonogram, she knew it was cancer. She had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.
Overfield said her doctor told her none of her cancers was connected.
Things happen for a reason, she said.
“When you’re sick, it’s amazing the people who pick up the pieces and help out,” Overfield said.
She has lost friends and relatives over the years, sparking a feeling of “Why them and not me?”
“If I’m here, I’m here to do something,” Overfield said.
Overfield teaches 14 classes a week, ranging from Zumba to Sculpting to Active Older Adult fitness. Three letters were sent by her students nominating her as a person who makes a difference. In all the letters, Overfield was called an inspiration.
“She conducts her classes with friendliness and humor, always encouraging each and every person to just do their best,” wrote Jean Smith, one of Overfield’s students. “As a person and as an instructor, one could not find a better role model.”
For the past two years, Overfield has organized a Zumbathon, which have raised $3,000 each time for cancer research. She’s been involved with the Relay for Life as an honorary chairman and a team member.
Overfield and her fitness students have walked in the Niceville Christmas Parade for the past two years with gifts for the Toys for Tots program in tow.
In the future, she hopes to get involved with local organizations geared to helping the homeless, something she doesn’t have much experience with.
“I want to open my eyes to other things I’m not aware of,” Overfield said.
Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado can be reached at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.