Bethany Ciccarelli Is Apollon Strong

When it comes to strength, you will not find Bethany throwing weights around the gym with fellow Team Apollon athlete Branch Warren. However, true strength comes from within. After reading Bethany's story, we think you'll agree that her spirit rivals Branch Warren's intensity.

Bethany Ciccarelli in her own words...

"Hey guys, for those of you who do not know me my name is Bethany and I am an ambassador for Apollon Nutrition! I'm honored to have been given this opportunity to share a piece of me from my past in hopes to inspire others. I'm going to journey back a bit to explain how I got into the lifestyle I live today. On May 7th, 2008 my life changed forever when I heard the words “you have cancer.” At the age of 6, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. To briefly explain; ALL is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Typically your bone marrow will produce white blood cells to fight off infection in your body. However, in my case, there was an error in my cell's DNA, so I was rapidly producing abnormal white blood cells aka Leukemia cells. Around the age of 5, I was constantly in and out of the doctor's office with fevers and unexplained fatigue. I was always a very energetic child so when my parents kept finding me falling asleep throughout the day and even once at my friend's house, they knew something was wrong.

One day I was playing with my little sister and I went to lift her up, instantly I felt the most excruciating pain in my lower back. As days went on the pain did not go away in fact it started to come in waves. Some days it got to the point where I could not even move my body. From this point forward we were constantly going to different doctors to get tests done including extensive blood work, bone marrow biopsies, and spinal taps. I remember the day my father drove me to my first scan and every little bump we went over caused indescribable pain. Finally, after so many different referrals and visits, we ended up at The Valerie Fund Children's Center. The doctors gave me my diagnosis and explained the cancer was found in clusters in the bone marrow of my lower back. Once I received this diagnosis I immediately began my 2.5 year journey of treatments consisting of intense chemotherapy.

During my treatments, I received a mixture of chemotherapy and steroids. The chemotherapy caused incessant nausea making a bucket my trusty companion. As for the steroids, they would cause me to swell up and bloat making it difficult to walk. Unfortunately, when you are given chemotherapy it not only kills the bad cells, but also kills the good cells which landed me in the hospital 22 different times for an extended period of time. During these treatments, my body went through so many changes from being underweight, to being overweight, to losing my hair a number of times. I lost touch with myself and didn't even know who I was anymore. I couldn't wait for the day when I was healthy again and felt good in my own skin. This is where my mindset shifted and my healthy lifestyle began. I am honored to say as of this August 18th I’ll be 12 years cancer-free. I am blessed and full of gratitude to wake up every morning, take another breath and, have the opportunity to live this life in this body of mine."

Follow Bethany @workouts_by_bethany

Apollon Strong

Bethany we applaud you for your strength and courage to share your story. We are happy to have you as part of Team Apollon and look forward to your growth in and out of the gym. You are the definition of APOLLON STRONG. –Robert and Karalina

Join Our Team

If you have true strength and think you have what it takes to be a part of Team Apollon we would love to hear from you. You DO NOT have to be an IFBB Pro. You just have to have a love and passion for training and be willing to share that passion with others. If you love Apollon Nutrition supplements and you want to be part of the team, the books are open. Apply here today.