Motivation

Okay ladies - I walked my dog as usual twice today. I then mowed the yard. It usually takes me two days but it was over cast and I just did the yard inside the fence. I'll get outside the fence some day. I park outside the fence. Then I pulled out the dcd's of zumba!! I learned that I'm not coridinated and have no rythm! I did do two of the dvd's and will do more tomorrow. I will also be able to go to yoga on Wednesday. First I have to go to the bank and have my safe deposit box drilled out. It is going to cost me $150 to get in it since the theives stole my keys when they broke in to my trailer. Someimes you can't win! I'll have my blood checked for everything when I go back to my ONC. My gyn is doing bloodwork too so maybe I can get her to check for everything too. I go to the gyn in July and the onc in august.  Use the sunscreen on the legs. I have had 2 carcinoma cancer spots taken off of my thigh in the last year. (13 and 15 stitches) Been a long day. Everyone have a great evening.

Deanna ~ Super news on your U/S!!

I'm so slacking off in the exercising department... I talked to an older lady at the funeral for my step-brother a week ago who had bc in 1989 & now has lymphoma. I asked her how she manages to not think of recurrence & she said she put it out of her mind & just accepted the fact that bc would return... That has so put me in a slump. I need to get motivated again!

HELP !

Val

Kari, thanks for the Carissa update

Joy, sorry to hear the shift change has you out of whack.  Maybe just start by walking an extra 10 minutes a day with or without the dogs and make that the goal for this week?  

Mumayan-Glad to see you are back. Hope those Euros treated you nicely. As far as the dope in Amsterdam; it sounds just like going to college here in the 70's. Guess that is why I have no desire to ever go to Amsterdam. If I eat a brownie now, I want it straight up! I think I still have the recipe though. I went to a baby shower in  '72 and they passed out those brownies before they told us they were laced! I was so pissed. I hated drugs of anykind. But I saved the recipe they gave us "Mother Hubbard's cooking with grass". So glad those days are gone! I always wondered how that kid turned out????

Val-As Muma said, walking is the best therapy. It helps purge all those negative thoughts and is good for the body.  And as Deanna said, you have to ignore ALL the negative people in life. The reason that woman's cancer returned is because she BELIEVED it would. There is so much power in suggestion. Look how hard it is to stifle a yawn when someone just mentions the word. See, I bet you want to yawn right now! You have to believe that you will remain cancer free. One of the ways to do that is by feeling that you are proactive. The mind is a powerful antioxidant!

Kari-41 as your Vit D score is still too low. You need to take supplements. My doctor said that when we are depleted of Vit D, it is too hard to get enough from the sun. I started with 6000 iu a day for months and my level went from 25-45. It took me another 6 months, and then it was over 100 so I am scaling back to 4000IU. I do get more sun now that is is warmer(well, I guess that is still debatable here!), but I will still supplement, because I know my levels were low at the end of last summer. I use drops by carlson's. They have a good reputation, and one drop is 2000IU.

Joy-keep walking that doggie! It will be great for both of you! And if all that mowing starts to get to you, start planting flowers and veggies. If I had my way, my whole yard would be nothing but. Flowers bring me such Joy and I love going out to the garden to pick my own dinner. I just hope it warms up soon, so the stuff will get growing!

Welcome Debonethelake. We hope we can inspire you, and vice-versa. Love, the cute little kitty!

Val ~ How are you feeling today?  I was just thinking about you and wanted to share a couple more thoughts with you.  First, do you have upbeat music on when you're at home?  I think it's the best thing to energize you and lift your mood.  I love to crank it up when no one else is home. 

The other thing is something vivre touched on when she said walking helps to purge negative thoughts, but I think bears more explanation.  Did you know that exercising actually releases endorphins, which your body needs to feel happy?  

I just found this explanation on a website called NaturalTherapy:

"Exercise decreases the stress hormones such as cortisol and increases endorphins.  Endorphins are the body's natural feel good chemicals, and when they are released through exercise, your mood is boosted naturally.  As well endorphins, exercise also releases adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine.  These chemicals work together to make you feel good. 

Endorphins are defined as hormone-like substances that are produced in the brain and function as the body's natural painkillers.  During exercise, these endorphins are released, and this can produce feelings of euphoria and a general state of wellbeing.  The endorphins produced can be so powerful that they actually mask pain.  Physically active people recover from mild depression more quickly and physical activity is strongly correlated with good mental health as people age." 

Anyway... just wanted to share those thoughts with you as I head out for my morning walk.  I really hope you'll get out there today, too.  I know it will make you feel better.  ((Hugs)))   Deanna

kfinnigan: Yikes what a terrible and sad story

That's why I like yoga besides the stretching and strengthening--you really have to focus, and a lot of emphasis on focusing on your breathing. I dragged myself off to do it last night and was really glad I did.

You still do need to wear sunscreen but what I do is take a supplement and just pull my pant legs up for 15 mins in the backyard when it's sunny to get a shot of sun to get the vitamin D production going without too much naked sun exposure. (I find I am even more sensitive to it since radiation especially on my face and neck.) I would be interested to see if my levels have come up--probably not yet and based on what vivre said, I probably need to really up it for a while. I am taking 1000 IUs right now...I hope my onc orders another test in a few months so I can see where I am.

Kari--am so sorry to hear about your neighbor. That's just awful... hugs to you and also to Val. Sorry about your loss as well.

Chin up ladies!  

Hi all,

Yoga tonight. Went to my annual GYN checkup today, (so no exercise this AM). It was sort of an "anniversary" thing as at this appt last year is when the lump was discovered. It wasn't as bad as I thought though. It's over. She felt a "something funny" in my tummy and I have to get an ultrasound on Friday morning! I think she is just taking no chances with me!  I hope it is nothing. Cripes!

I suppliment with 5,000 D for now. I keep getting it tested and it keeps going up. Finally in the "mid" ranges. !!!!

oh Spring, keep us posted with the u/s Friday please!!!  Cripes is right!

Kari-I take anything WEBMD says with a grain of salt. It is just an arm of mainstream medicine and definitely not thinking with any "natural" point of view. Those standards listed are way to all. Again it is telling people a norm, when people may not fit the norm. All I know is I took 6000IU for 6months and I only got my Vit D level up to 45. After 6 more months I did end up with a score over 100 so I cut back and will get it tested again in a couple of months. It takes a long time to build are bodies back up. Taking any supplement is not like taking a pill. There are no immediate results. It takes time.

As far as the walking making you think. I agree it does. I actually felt that is why it was so helpful to me. I needed to work through a lot of "stuff". In fact, I never wanted to walk with anyone. I always walked alone because I just needed that time to wrap my head around it all. It kind of makes me think about how my MIL complained that catholic masses should still be in Latin. She did not like to have to listen to what the priest had to say LOL. As a protestant, I could not understand her reasoning because  I thought that listening to the preacher gave me things to consider. To each her own I guess!

no walking today.  have neck and shoulder pain all day; probably slept wrong last night.  hurting and tired so took tylenol pm and off to la la land shortly.  enjoy your evening everyone.

Debonthelake: Tai Chi is wonderful!  I am a computer-chair-potato, with a long history of back, knee, and foot pain.  I have never found an exercise that didn't increase my pain.  Tai Chi actually makes everything hurt less.  I have a really good instructor who is also a formally-trained Chinese Medical Doctor and Acupuncturist.  He teaches Tai Chi in a way that includes all the underlying principals for why it is done this way. 

There are some really nice Tai Chi videos out there.  If you feel drawn to it, you should try it.

 After my mx, the pt said the tai chi helped me get my range of motion and lung capacity back faster than expected.  

No offense guys, but I am getting a bit tired of all the yuckiness lately. Our fellow sisters who have recently passed, in hospital or very ill at home. Those even on this thread finding "stuff" in abdomens and breasts again. Young pregnant moms seriously hurt, neighbors being killed, friends full of ca. I found out yesterday from a friend who's husband was recently killed in a snowmobiling accident, that one former coworker just found out she is full of cancer, the cancer center told her to go home and get her things in order, nothing they can do. Another former coworker who should be back from her mat leave just buried her husband and father. My neighbor died hiking the other day. This doesn't even include all the friends my mom lost last week. What is with this world! NO MORE SUCKINESS!!!!! My other neighbor is expecting soon, can't wait for this bundle of "joy" hopefully it will turn things around here.

Okay, done my rant now, thanks all for listening, just had to get that off my chest. Think I am just real tired.

Well I hope everyone who is having tests get all normal results!

Sorry for being a downer.

Hi all,

Penny ~ I'm going to add one more downer, my step-brother's death was due to an accident: he was working under his truck, & without going into details, it slipped & one minute he was "here" & the next, he wasn't.... That was a major downer as he was only 38 yrs old, has left a 34 yr old widow & two children. That, with the comment from that 'lady' really put me in a funk.

I went shopping today, in the pouring rain, running to & from the stores with the carts of groceries (well, lots of $$ spent & not much to show for it), getting soaking wet! That was my exercise.

Deanna ~ I used to listen to music all the time in the house (I do in the car), I think it is time to start again. I used to stop in the living room & DANCE - that is something I had not thought about. Thank you so much for the suggestion! I had forgotten all the good exercising does do other than for your body in general, it helps your "happyness" (intentionally spelled like the movie), your soul.

vivre ~ Thank you. You always say the right thing. Who's signature saying is something like, "What you think about comes about" or something like that, Lisa's??-can't go back to look or I'll lose this post. I also think that lady's C. returned because she believed in time it would. I was expecting a positve comment from her & when she said that, it really threw me-it put me right back in that tunnel. You & Deanna are right, one has to ignore the negative people in our lives. 

muma, kari, Meg, Debonthelake (love your avatar!~I like your signature saying "I cannot control everything that comes my way on this life journey, but I can control the way that I react." Fits right in.... Thanks to all. 

 And, Spring, "Cripes" is right! You are in my prayers, as are you, Debi.

I WILL get my butt in motion FIRST thing in the morning!!!!

I knew I would get positive support from all of you, you don't know how much this means to me. (then again, I'm sure you do) I knew I could not let myself go on feeling so down. And, I'm the only one who can raise myself up, with a little help from my friends.

I've never done yoga or tai chi, maybe it's time I learned.

Love & hugs to all,

Valerie Jean