Exercise and well being during chemo and radiation

eheinrich

I'm starting that process too Allison. I'm going out of my HMO for recon & just got the forms to bring to my primary doc. I hope it's smooth sailing - but am anticipating not so much.

rainnyc

3 miles. The walk took me on busy roads past several construction projects, so the long-term health benefit of walking might have been offset by lung damage/hearing damage. Still, legs feel good!

Metta

Hey everyone,

Slothabouttown, the fitness app I like best is Lose It, but I started using MyFitnessPal recently. Okay, let's admit it: I think I did it for two days, like you, eheinrich. It does help, though, especially if you want to lose weight.

I'm finished AC+T, got through surgery, done with radiation, and last night I started the fourth horseman of the apocalypse (Tamoxifen), so I'm going to jump on this board and try to keep my weight stable. I've read that Tamoxifen can push you into diabetes, which runs in my family even though we are health food nuts. I'm pretty thin and eat a low glycemic diet (except for chocolate), but I found out yesterday that my A1C was 6.1, so I'm prediabetic. It could be the sedentary lifestyle since surgery and radiation, and it could be lingering effects of weekly steroids during Taxol. But that number just stinks. Too much insulin=cancer, right? I'm discouraged, but I need to pick myself up and get going, 30 minutes a day!

I ran twice this week, walked 20 minutes every day, and last night went to yoga class, first time since April. Here is a pretty sailing picture for you, Katy and Sailorbev:

Trvler

Eileen: It's such a pain, isn't' it? Why did you decide to go out? Am I recalling correctly that you couldn't get on the schedule so you went out? At least you don't (hopefully) have to deal with all of the local docs trying to talk you out of going out of network. They finally gave up on me. And now when they bring it up, I always cite some recent article I have seen posted about how awesome my doctors are. That's shuts them right up.

ksusan

I'm thinking about which Horseman is which:

• War: Surgery (bladed weapons)
• Famine: Hormone suppression (starves the body of estrogen by blocking its creation or the receptor site)
• Pestilence: Chemo (swarms and decimates cancer cells wherever they try to hide)
• Death: Radiation (fry the mutants)

eheinrich

Allison: I'm going out of network because my HMO can't fit me in until November. November, REALLY??? I need to move on from all of this (but not you guys!) and would ideally like to confine it to 2015 - the year I had cancer. Also I need to find a job (esp since Alan & I are not reconciling) & if I get offered something I can't really say that I need time off for surgery. If I wait until Nov I worry that it will never happen.

Blech.

On the positive side - I lost 4 pounds!!!!! Gym again today - yay!!!

Jackbirdie

Welcome Metta- that IS a beautiful sailing picture! Can we get the back story? Looks so familiar to me. Made me smile.

I was on my way to a regular MO checkup (at which my BP was very high for me 158/110) and saw a lady crossing the street with a yoga mat. I stopped for her (Rainny we do that here in Oregon! Haha!) and asked. I just moved to this town a week ago. Turns out there is a free class twice a week within walking distance of my house! I'm going to try. I have no core strength after months of post surgery and chemo slothdom. Sorry Linda! Anyway I think it's great it's so close and it's free. I expect my glucose will now also creep back up. Except for right after steroids it was low during chemo. Mysterious body of mine.

Allison thanks for the dates. You are on my mojo distribution schedule now.

rainnyc

Metta, is that JFK and Jackie? Looks of their era.

Katy, that is awesome that a stranger led you to a yoga class. And now a stranger no more! And the class is free--you've clearly moved to some sort of west coast paradise where all good things happen.

Ksusan, I love the four horsemen analysis. Though since it's BC (and with apologies to the men who get it), would they be four horsewomen?

Jackbirdie

Zehr gut Frau Doktor

Trvler

Lol, thanks, Katy!

Eileen: I feel the same way. I was hoping to be done with this cancer nonsense in 2015. But I probably am not going to be able to get it all done with stage 2 and nipples and all of that.

Jackbirdie

No, I learned long ago. Nipples can't be rushed. Har.

littleblueflowers

Ksusan, I think you just found our t-shirt concept! hmmmm

ksusan

It's Metta's metaphor

Jackbirdie

Now I am wondering if Metta is a play on metaphor.... When I first saw the sailing pic I was looking on my phone and couldn't see that of course yes Jackie and JFK. It reminded me of a wonderful family picture of my parents taken when they were still alive and speaking to each other. The picture is over 50 years old. I feel there is a link, albeit weak, to this thread due to the exercise and wellbeing they were experiencing, AND the killer ab work my mom was doing. She was an amazing woman. Miss you mom.

rainnyc

What a splendid picture, Katy! Their joy practically leaps off the page--er, computer screen. Of the same era as the Jack and Jackie photo, yes? Where was it taken?

Jackbirdie

They were racing in San Diego Harbor. There is a companion photo, published later that evening in the newspaper, showing what was under my mom's scarf. It's a long standing joke in the family what each of their recollections are about that day. Their letters to me recounting their version of events are framed with each picture, respectively.

At the Junior League ball the evening after the race. Sailorbev, in case it's of interest, they were sailing an old class of boats called Lehman 12.

Another interesting factoid is this ball was held at the very famous Hotel del Coronado. Years later I was to attend my senior prom there.

Hopeful82014

I've been way too buried in work this week to post but have worked out and/or done yoga every day - 45 minutes to 75 minutes plus upper body work.

Tomorrow's my last day of radiation.

littleblueflowers

Beautiful pix, katy!

Hopeful is almost done! Woooohooooo!

Little walking today, then 5 mi jog, 150 abs, 10 girl pushups, 20 wall pushups, stretches.

Jackbirdie

So happy for you Hopeful! Good riddance rads!

slothabouttown

congrats hopeful on finishing rads!

slothabouttown

Also why do all of you have emoticons of bells and whistles and interpretive dancers and all I have are a few yellow faces and a thumb?

slothabouttown

And Katy I love the old photos. Your parents were so cosmopolitan and they must had so much fun racing!

ksusan

Weird non-radiation blisters decreasing with witch hazel and Neosporin. One more zap and then they'll get the weekend off.

If I read my 23 and Me +and Promethease DNA interpretation correctly, I should have a good chance of responding to my chemo drugs and Tamoxifen. I should also be in pretty good health otherwise, from a genetic perspective (with all the caveats that apply to such a broad statement, and a marked propensity toward difficulty losing weight and developing diabetes already expressed).

8/13:

• 1.25 hr T (2.6 MPH avg) + stretches
• (radiation #25)
• .75 hr T (2.6 MPH avg) + Fitbit steps + stretches

= 7.15 miles

wpmoon

sloth - they're the iPhone emojis, the ones you're seeing are the bco website ones lol.

Hopeful82014

Your mother was a beautiful woman, Katy, wasn't she? I can see both your parents in you.

KBeee

I was not a good photographer. I ate taco salad since I can sort of taste it, had a couple pieces of a funnel cake, had a half bowl of ice cream, and had a strawberry smoothie. Not bad for 9 hours there. Between my walk and the fair, Inhad 20,000+ steps! My foot in the boot is sore! Today we are hosting birthday parties for my girls. I am hoping to sneak a short walk in before, and another short one in between the parties.

Jackbirdie

A nice and gentle rain falling here. We need it. Very relaxing. But it means no walk this morning. Maybe later. Jack and I are doing a hospital therapy dog visit this afternoon and that may be good for a few thou (steps) haha.


Thanks Sloth and Hopeful. Both of my parents were attractive, intelligent, and well-rounded. Alas, bipolar and alcohol affected their relationship irreparably. My mother was amazing. I was lucky she came to live with me the last 3 1/2 yrs of her life and I have indelible fond memories.


That photo was probably around late 60s. Cosmopolitan, yes. In the late 50s, he crewed (just two men on very fast boats called stars) on the winning World Championship boat in Rio de Janeiro. The next year the title was won won by a father/son team, arch rivals from the same yacht club.


In a strange twist of fate, my mother married that father 50 years later. So she was married to two World Champions

ksusan

Envious of your rain--we are still smelling smoke from local fires at a campfire-like of intensity, and the air is full of grit. Even if we don't get our predicted .001% rainfall today, I'm hoping the humidity will precipitate some of the particulates out of the air.

sailorbev

Metta and Linda--thank you for the sailing photos!  Your parents were amazing, Linda!  So glad you have the photos and great memories of your mom. 

My husband and I started sailing relatively late in life, in our 40's. I had signed our kids up for sailing lessons, my husband also took lessons and fell in love. I did not enjoy our first small boat (Force 5) but loved the next bigger boat, a J-80. We day-sailed and raced it for 8 years. Not any world-class racing though!  Now we have a cruising boat and are learning how to do that type of sailing. My dream was to sail to the Bahamas this winter but that will have to wait until next winter. 

My exercise for the day--3 mile walk and 1-hour weight training class. 

slothabouttown

Bev, those are Katy's parents (jackbirdie) and amazing photos. I've got nothing anywhere near that exciting in my Indiana roots, we were a classic Midwestern working class Mellencamp song, and sadly not a sailor in the bunch!