Sami Mansfield

Sami Mansfield is the founder of Cancer Wellness for Life, an organization that develops cancer wellness and exercise resources for hospital and health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, nonprofits, and people impacted by cancer. Sami began her career in 2003 and is one of the first cancer exercise specialists and wellness experts in the world. She is known for her program development and implementation skills as well as being an engaging and inspiring speaker.

Her work includes delivering wellness and exercise directly to people affected by breast cancer and working with health care leaders, oncology organizations, and policy makers, as seen in her role leading the prevention taskforce for the Kansas Cancer Control Plan. The goal of these efforts is to make wellness and exercise part of the cancer care plan from the day of diagnosis.

Sami is also the director of oncology wellness for the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at HCA Midwest Health. Here she works to develop and grow this pilot program for one of the largest cancer programs in the United States.

In 2016 Sami developed BUILD, the first functional fitness exercise program for cancer survivors, which has its roots in Kansas City. After the success of this program outgrew the space it was in, Sami and her husband Jerry opened up the WeBuild4Life wellness and fitness center in Lenexa, Kansas, in January 2019, the first and only stand-alone fitness facility dedicated to cancer wellness in the United States. This nonprofit provides scholarships to individuals who have experienced financial hardship due to a cancer diagnosis.

Sami is an experienced public speaker. She has developed countless educational materials on various topics such as fatigue, is a regular podcast guest, and has consulted on clinical trials and cancer organization projects.

Sami sees firsthand the importance of exercise to reduce side effects, maintain strength, and withstand and recover from aggressive treatments and surgeries. She is known to be very passionate about the importance of exercise and even motivates her clinical staff to be more active to take care of themselves.