Celebrity trainer thanks community for support during daughter’s cancer journey
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson praised his community for coming together for his family in a time of dire need.
Peterson announced the cancer diagnosis of his now five-year-old daughter Monroe on social media in 2024 and was overwhelmed by the response from around the world wanting to help their little girl.
Now in recovery, Peterson reflected on his daughter’s journey back to health after Monroe was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
DICK VAN DYKE, 99, GIVES UP TWO BAD HABITS FOR NEARLY YEARS OF LIFE
Celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson opened up about his five-year-old daughter’s leukemia journey, which she is currently in remission from, and how Solbasium red light therapy helped with the recovery process. (Nicole Weingart/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Gunnar Peterson Instagram)
“Knock on wood, he’s on the mend,” Peterson proudly said during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “He still has a port in his chest for bi-monthly infusions.
“He’s a trooper. His hair is growing back. He’s not… I wouldn’t say he’s there yet, but he has no qualms about it and he’s a thriving kindergartener.”
Peterson reveals he’s making a “life-changing return” to his usual social media content May 2024 post When Monroe shared her diagnosis with her 421,000 followers.
After Monroe began experiencing strange symptoms, Peterson and his wife, Janet, immediately sought medical attention and took her to the hospital; There he endured a series of procedures, including a spinal tap, chemotherapy and a bone marrow biopsy, before receiving the diagnosis of “AML leukemia.”
Gunnar Peterson shared that his daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 when she was only four years old. (Gunnar Peterson Instagram)
DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
AML is defined by the American Cancer Society as “a type of leukemia that begins in the bone marrow (the soft interior of certain bones where new blood cells are made), but often quickly spreads into the blood. It can sometimes spread to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and testicles.”
“Please keep our daughter and our family—both immediate and extended—in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers,” he wrote at the time. “As we all know ‘you never know what someone is going through.’ “I already owe a lot of thanks, so I’ll be handing them out as things unfold.”
There was a huge response to the fitness expert’s call to action. He told Fox News Digital that his family already lived in Nashville, Tennessee, and “this situation hit us in the face.” However, he noted that “everything is going well” as his daughter receives treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Everything they could do for my daughter was amazing,” she said. “And my wife works with a lady named Susan Johnson [Research Nurse and Nurse Practitioner at Vanderbilt]alternative medicine, intestinal cleansing, intestinal biome.”
“Don’t mess with Mother Bear, she’s in this, she’s looking at everything, she’s looking at all kinds of alternative approaches,” he said.
WATCH: GUNNAR PETERSON PRAISES ‘THE GREAT NETWORK’ FOR HELPING HIS DAUGHTER AFTER CANCER DIAGNOSIS
APPLICATION USERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PUBLICATION
He also said his family was incredibly lucky to have an “amazing network” of people who offered and offered to help.
“We all know there are a lot of bad people in the world, but I would also say that there are a lot of really good people in the world, and the way people come together for a cause and for a cause, especially for a child, is pretty amazing,” Peterson said.
“And we got a lot of help from other institutions in Texas, New York, California. We had people tapping their contacts for us, and we got direct help from the heads of pediatric oncology in different places.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
She added: “I would encourage anyone who is going through any kind of trouble to reach out to anyone they have because people will come forward and you’ll be surprised. And don’t sit there and think you’re alone because yes, there are lonely times, but you’re not alone. You’re not.”
Gunnar Peterson previously worked with David Beckham on a fitness project. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for F45 Tutorial)
Peterson has worked with many stars and once trained Nick Cannon in Park City, Utah. (Chris Weeks/WireImage)
“There are a lot of good people who can help, and the people you think about aren’t necessarily the people in your life bubble, right? And they’ll say, ‘Hey, by the way, I have a friend who’s connected to this,’ and you’ll say, ‘Is that so?’ you will say. And it’s wild.”
Now even more openly, Peterson praised his wife’s perseverance when it came to advocating for their daughter during the difficult medical journey.
WATCH: FAMOUS TRAINER SAYS HIS DAUGHTER IS IN RECOVERY AFTER BATTLE WITH CANCER
“My wife has made a big deal about this, and I think that’s what all moms, dads, and caregivers do,” she said. “And you can’t do that without the staff at the hospital. These people are special. Yeah, they’re pretty impressive.”
Peterson, of course, uses some of his own training techniques on recovery. The former Director of Strength and Endurance for the Los Angeles Lakers, who has decades of experience, emphasized the unique benefits of the sport. Solbasium red light therapy.
Solbasium’s red light therapy technology helps reduce inflammation, accelerate muscle recovery, improve skin healing, and support overall health.
Holding the Solbasium body pads, Peterson said, “I’m going to use this on my daughter. I’m going to use this on my son… if his quadriceps are tired from a game and he’s played two games in a row in a football tournament, I’m going to hit him with this. If he rolls his ankle, I’m going to put this cuff on him.”
CLICK TO REACH THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Peterson admitted she was initially emotional about how cancer stole a year from Monroe’s life, but said her daughter now talks about her journey, even though her young mind doesn’t specifically remember the events.
APPLICATION USERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PUBLICATION
“Interestingly, he seems to be talking about photos of himself rather than actual events, and people at the hospital said he probably won’t remember this for a few years,” Peterson said.
“Oh, ‘How is this possible?’ I ask. ‘What do you remember from when you were four?’ they ask. So I said: OK, but…we’ll remember this, but they said you probably won’t have it completely…this seems very strange to me. How can you not remember what you just experienced?”
Peterson added that although it may seem odd that her daughter doesn’t remember the experience when she grows up, “We’ll take it for granted… The body heals, the mind heals, too.”
