Zumba teacher survives rare cancer, students wait for her return

Every Wednesday when they would have been meeting for class, Linda Flynn's Zumba students got together and prayed for their teacher.

By Emily Blackwood
| 1:44 p.m. November 17, 2016

Linda Flynn teaches Zumba Gold at Moose Lodge #1263 in Ormond Beach every Wednesday (Photo by Emily Blackwood).

Ormond Beach Observer
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Every day that Linda Flynn was going through cancer treatment, she got a positive message from Glenda Moore on Facebook reminding her that it was going to be a good day.

"And it always was," Moore smiled.

One of Flynn's original Zumba Gold students, Moore was among a handful that continued to meet every Wednesday at 11 a.m. while Flynn was in treatment in Gainesville. In February, Flynn was diagnosed with Peri-urethral cancer, a rare malignancy with a 60% survival rate. Thankfully it was caught early enough, and the Zumba instructor said going through treatment wasn't as bad as she expected.

"I think being in shape and having a positive attitude helped," she said. "I took my last test two months ago, and I was cancer-free."

Throughout the few months she was in treatment, Flynn's students refused to have a sub teach her class, and instead met up every week to have lunch and pray for her.

"It made me feel fantastic," she said. "It made me warm and wanted. It gave me motivation to come back and return their dedication."

"She can't get rid of us," Moore said. "We just love her."

Flynn teaches Zumba Gold, a lower-intensity class for older adults, at 11 a.m. every Wednesday at the Moose Lodge #1263, 601 W. Granada Blvd., and at 11 a.m. every Thursday at The Casements.