How soon after surgery did you do a half marathon?

Thankful4mylife

Hello everyone!! I'm brand new here! Not sure if I did my signature correctly so just in case, here is my background. I was diagnosed on 7/27/12 with DCIS and IDC. I had 3 tumors in my left breast that was a total span of 3.6 cm even tho each tumor was 10 mm or less. I had a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Thankfully, since I had implants before, I was able to skip the expander part and go right to implants. I am 17 days post-op and feeling better than I ever expected!!! I even walked 5.4 miles yesterday. Here's my question (finally).....I was registered for a half-marathon on Oct 7. If i get clerance from my doctor, I'm still considering walking it if I still continue to feel well. This would be only 1 month post-op. Am I crazy? Has anyone out there done something like this so soon after surgery. I was a runner before surgery and ran my first half marathon in May. Again, I definitely wouldn't run this one, but would like to walk it. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

ab1234

First, congratulations on feeling so well after such an experience! While I am a very "fit" person and have run several half-marathons, I know that it would not have been smart for me to attempt that so soon. I had my exchange Aug 17, and my PS did NOT want me running for 3 weeks after, and I also am scheduled for a half on Oct 27th! While I waited the 3 weeks, he was right, my chest was VERY sore the next day after a run, and that kind of freaked me out. I'm back to running about 6-7 miles now pretty comfortably and will continue to train for the next few weeks. The good news is, this course is ENTIRELY downhill. I'm doing it with a friend that is slower than I am, so I think I'll be able to make it even if we walk quite a bit.

Only you and your doctor can decide if this is okay for you. Just knowing what your body and chest just went through, I think walking 13.1 miles is just a little too much only 1-month out. That's still a lot of impact/movement/strain so soon! But I'm just sharing my opinion...so good luck to you either way! You're amazing! 

deks

Hello Thankful,

Did you run/walk the marathon on Oct 7 and how did it go?  How has your recovery been since?

I was pleased to see your post as I have to decide whether to have mastectomy or radiation.  The final question that will tip the balance is the shortest length to recovery from either treatment. I did a tri-a-triathelon on June 30 and lumpectomy on Aug 27 with confirmation 2 weeks later.  Although it is overkill to go for a bilateral that at the moment is my choice.  At 73 I want to get back to fitness and on with my life and not have the possibility of further occurrences or treatments.

So thanks for your post

Thankful4mylife

Hi there.....

I did do the half marathon and it was wonderful! I took my time, ran some, walked most of it, still made it in 3:16:46:)

I must say that I feel extremely fortunate that my recovery from my dbl mastectomy was pretty easy. I realize this isn't the case for some. I am 2 months post-op and have very little tenderness. I still have some tightness under my arms when I raise them, but that's getting better. I went for a 1.25 mile walk 3 days post-op and I was up to 3 miles the next week.

I did have immediate reconstruction with implants, no TE's, and my PS put pain pumps in that lasted a good 5 days. I stayed on top of my pain meds and really followed doctor's orders.

2 reasons my surgeons said contributed to me doing so well are that I was pretty fit at time of diagnosis (sounds like you are too!) and I already had breast implants so I didn't have to deal with the stretching pain.

For me, I felt very strongly about getting a bilateral mastectomy. I've been a mammography tech for 12 years and have seen recurrence too many times. There were also a few other factors that played into this decision.....I'm only 38, i have 2 small kids, and have a HUGE family history of breast cancer. This is completely a personal choice and everyone has an idea of what is right for them!

I hope this helped you a little! LMK if you have other questions!

Best of luck to you!!!