Stage 4 Fitness 2015

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  • Kjones13
    Kjones13 Member Posts: 1,520
    edited April 2015

    brandall--so glad to see you! Sorry for the progression and being on the placebo. That sucks butt! Impressive that you are working out and doing so well! It is kind of a shock when you try a sport you loved and came to you like second nature...and now it's a major struggle! It's like my mind is still there, ready to go...my body just doesn't respond the way it used to. Oh well. You keep up the good work! Cheering for you!

  • screech
    screech Member Posts: 212
    edited April 2015

    Did Eight miles of mountain biking with a couple of mikes of hiking for good measure. I found out that dirt trails with hills are tougher than flat, paved bike roads!

  • fujiimama
    fujiimama Member Posts: 800
    edited April 2015


    Macy and Brendall sorry about those pesky Mets. Hopefully new treatments will work.

    Ronniekay - my hips and stomach are starting to loosen and tone. Never new you could do both at the same time.

    3-16 Hope you get cleared for fun.

  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited April 2015

    Fujii...woohoo for toning you :). You've recovered so well from diep...proud of you!

    Screech..awesome mountain biking/hiking! I'm strictly a flat paved gal!

    Kjones...we spent the day heavy duty gardening/cleaning at our farm. So many landscape moves used to be a snap...today I sat down & could hardly get back up...it sucks butt..HA! Love that!

  • BionicBunny
    BionicBunny Member Posts: 146
    edited May 2015


    Hey fitness gals-we've all been a little quiet lately so thought I would check in and see how everyone's been doing. I've been extra busy with work, had to have an MRI because of arm weakness (doc is always looking for trouble...), and have been working hard to get miles on the bike.

    Last night I brushed off my horse and had a nice, short, hip stretching ride. Since I am on my computer tonight instead of my kindle I will try to insert a photo-mud and all:)

    image

    It was so beautiful tonight that DH and I went for a bike ride when he got home from work. It is so good to have better weather, though we had a dusting of snow on the ground two mornings last week-hopefully that is the end of that!

    Hope everyone is able to be out and about in the nice spring weather. Best to you all.

  • 3-16-2011
    3-16-2011 Member Posts: 559
    edited May 2015

    happy that spring has come to the east coast and you are enjoying it. Good luck on the scan. I am walking and gardening in our beautiful spring weather. Still need to plan a 5kto keep me motivated.

  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited May 2015

    HA! Back in the car, almost to our farm town house & yardwork! Last trip, we dug up 40 26 yr old rose bushes that had sadly, this many years later, died off. Mom & dad planted them as a tribute to my brother who was killed in an accident. He was 26..,weird they lasted the same # of years. One survived. Also dug up 10 huge coral bells...because it was too hard to keep the wild grass from growing in them...each trip I'd spend hours weeding. As sad as it sounds to pull up established plants, making life easier is a priority.

    Andi...my heart breaks for you...with your dad finding his time on earth coming to an end. I wish your family peace & your dad, a gentle passing. Love to you.

    So glad to be inspired by everyone moving & doing what makes us happy. I found an Epsom salt bath after massive gardening helped a lot! Bought a new swim suit..actually 4...2 different sizes in 2 different colors...decision making just isn't going too well for me :-)

    Last week, my onc declared remission. I said I thought you weren't supposed to use that word...he said, "I just did." Said my C is obviously her2 sensitive, since I've been off chemo 6 mos & TM's are barely measurable. Oh, how I hope...Heidi, seeing your 7 years, yes please!!! May we all be blessed!

  • teacher911
    teacher911 Member Posts: 853
    edited May 2015

    Bionic Bunny you are always up to something good for yourself! Love seeing the picture of you on your horse. I am also hoping we are done with seeing any of the white stuff on the ground. Keep up the good effort, you do inspire me!

    RonnieKay, Love your message about making life simpler even if it means change that is difficult. So happy to hear your news from your doctor. Congratulations!!

  • screech
    screech Member Posts: 212
    edited May 2015

    Hooray Ronnie!

  • BionicBunny
    BionicBunny Member Posts: 146
    edited May 2015

    Nice to hear from you Teacher. Have you been able to do any running this spring? Hope all is well with you.

    RonnieKay-Congratulations on your good report! I am so happy to hear that.

    I am also into the Epsom salt baths. As a matter of fact, I just got out of the tub. Had chemo this morning and decided to bike this afternoon. I rode my mountain bike 15 miles on an easy trail, but was feeling it in my legs tonight. The Epsom salt baths really do seem to help. I'm hoping the bike/bath combo will help me to sleep despite having dex this morning.

    Hope everyone has a great weekend.

  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited May 2015

    Ms Bionic...I always think your name suits you well! Forgot to say I loved the picture of you on your horse. And to do all you do on a chemo day...unreal!!!

    All of our east coast girls...white stuff on the ground...I just can't believe it! You're amazing & to keep up w/running, biking, riding, etc...wow!

    Just sending a wish for peace to our Baltimore sisters....maybe someone's got a thread started that I haven't seen...thoughts & hope sent your way.

  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited May 2015

    YAY, RonnieKay!!! That is fantastic news! Are you on Herceptin now?

    Great picture, Bionic!

    I survived the mountainbike holiday in Crete, but only with the help of dexa and painkillers. I did try two days without them, but decided to take the doctor's advice as well as some advice from a yoga teacher I met there on relaxing/straightening the neck (through chin tucking) and keeping shoulders down. We did not have electric bikes so it was a test of endurance for me and DD, only she was not on any performance enhancers. We were always the last going uphill. Sigh. They had to tailor easier rides for us, meaning on paved roads uphill. Here is DD with our guide that day. He was absolutely the best at motivating a 15-year old.

    image 

  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited May 2015


    Oh, Ronniekay, with the electric bike I have you pedal as usual but you get 50%-200% more power depending on the mode.

  • screech
    screech Member Posts: 212
    edited May 2015

    Heidi-great picture. It looks like it was pretty and hilly. I like flat where I can just cruise. Going for a hike today and a bike ride tomorrow! Finally snow has gone!

  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited May 2015

    OMG Heidi...I thought your darling daughter & guide were sticking out their tongues...HA!!! It was their camelbacks!!! I got one for Christmas & totally forgot about it...I'll take it on my next bike ride. I'm always trying to reach for my water bottle! Thanks for info about electric bike...I had no idea. I think your trips are so amazing...biking in Crete...just seems amazing!!! Yep...herceptin/perjeta/letrozole...hope it works wonders!!!

    Woohoo Screech...Spring has sprung for you...in May!!!! Have fun enjoying it :-)

  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited May 2015

    Thank you for the sweet comments on my update....not everyone understands, but you all do :-)

  • Brendatrue
    Brendatrue Member Posts: 1,830
    edited May 2015

    Glad to hear from you all, from all walks -- runs, bike trips, horse rides, garden digs --of life! And the photos--what a great reminder of all the ways we find joy in our lives.

    Sorry to hear of disappointing events with your clinical trial and new signs of disease, Brandall, and understand why you would feel so bummed. Hope the relief from foot pain helps you to become more active and lifts your sprits. And glad to see you back around here.

    It's so unsettling to read about both ups and downs on this thread, but I think those who are having extra challenges are like me, happy for those who are in an up phase. 3-16, glad to know you got good scan results and hope you will feel more confident about your workouts. RK, RK!, RK!!!!! What can I say?!? I am so happy for you that you got to hear the big "R" word! And like others, I relate to your comment--on so many levels--about making life simpler. I hope you will be sticking around and enjoying a simpler life for a long, long time to come.

    I'm still enduring. It seems like my life is one big endurance test many days, but I know it could be worse, and I am truly grateful for all that is still working and whatever I can do on any given day. That may sound like a cliché, but it is so true for me. I am still exercising most days, and often I have to do the really low-key stuff, but that's what I can do, so I do it. Just knowing that I can do gentle yoga for 30-40 minutes gives me a lift psychologically on those days I cannot do more. Today I walked outside for a whole mile, in simply gorgeous weather, and I had to pay for it with angina, but I've taken the afternoon for total rest. I'm hanging in and doing what I can to be as well as is possible for me, as I hope you all do however and whenever you can do it.

  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited May 2015

    Oh,Brenda, I'm sorry it's tough-going for you. I've also been taking it easy since my mountainbike holiday. Now my PT is telling me I should push myself to do more. Yikes! She did give me a tip which I'm thinking could be of benefit to you and many here, in particular those who have had rads to the breast/chest wall. She told the story of a patient of hers who came in with problems (not sure what) including breathing difficulty (on oxgen, bedridden as a result). She saw that this woman had had a double mastectomy and rads (20 years ago). After 4 days of massaging the breast muscle and the spaces between the ribs, she managed to resolve the adhesions in the tissue and the woman was able to breathe again and resume some normality in daily living. I think my own neck issues which cause major trigger points all over my body could also be partly the result of adhesions in chest muscles which are of course connected to my neck and shoulder muscles. I'm going to get on with the massage program to loosen my chest (while the PT works on my neck and back.) Here's a video which is pretty much what she was describing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4POBucnFbE

    You can let your arm hang down to grab the pec muscle.

    It's painful and there are nasty trigger points there in my case. So start with gentle strokes. Or get a referral for PT. I'm 100% in agreement with my PT that all breast cancer patients should have some kind of rehab.

     

  • steelrose
    steelrose Member Posts: 3,798
    edited May 2015

    Thanks for that video, Heidi! I did cringe as I watched it… yikes! And I love the photo of your daughter… she's as active as her Mom!

    My whole body is a wreck from treatment, and I've not been nearly as active as I was. My pain is in the back and right ribcage from surgery/rads, and it makes working out so difficult. Stationary bike with back support is all I've been able to manage lately… grrr. I do have a PT referral, and plan on following up. I've tried almost everything else, with no relief.

    I follow all of you, and continue to draw strength from your posts. My goal is to get my body back to some sort of normal. I look forward to swimming this summer!

  • screech
    screech Member Posts: 212
    edited May 2015

    I'm side-lined right now. I finally am six months out from radiation so I was able to get my permanent implants on Tuesday! I so much more comfortable now. Didn't realize how much the spacers were bothering me until they were gone. Keep at it Ronnie, Heidi, Brenda, Steelerose.......

  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited May 2015

    Rose, I hope PT will be as worth it for you as it is for me. Screech, congrats on the permanent implants! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited May 2015

    Yahoo Screech!!! I had one spacer (2nd breast went in diep) and I seriously thought it was debilitating! Hope you heal fast and your new breasts are beautiful!!!

    Heidi...glad PT is helping you! I think they're the most under-appreciated & most helpful people in medicine! The one at my center diagnosed my 1st spacer as migrating. The PS poopooed it til it affected my brachiaplex muscle. I ended up having to have it replaced. She saw me after my lump, mx, diep...and has been my greatest ally in healing!

    Steel...I can't wait to hear that PT is the answer to getting your body back....so hopeful!

    Brenda...still inspiring, sister! Glad you keep moving & gentle yoga for 40 min...awesome. My guess is you're Miss Flexible :-). Blessed are the flexible...they bend w/out breaking! And I hear you...be thankful for what we can do...each day.

    Love to all! Hope Mother's Day was beautiful for all our Moms. XOXO

  • screech
    screech Member Posts: 212
    edited May 2015


    Hi All!  I'm healing up just fine from my implants.  I really have virtually no pain, BUT the surgeon told me not to do any "real" exercise until this weekend.  I can't wait.  BTW-the results are amazing.  I was blessed with great surgeons.  Hope everyone has a great day.

  • fujiimama
    fujiimama Member Posts: 800
    edited May 2015


    Yay! Boobies are fun. I have no sensation, but my mental health went through the roof. Here's to quick healing.

  • nancyh
    nancyh Member Posts: 2,644
    edited May 2015

    Hey gals, I'm still here, need to catch up on posts. I had gamma knife yesterday, they treated 11 lesions, can't believe I was able to avoid whole brain, but am thankful. I am still planning on finishing a half marathon, well actually, now I'm on the hook for two half marathons because my lovely friends and sisters-in-law are joining in. They might have to carry me across the finish, but I'm all in. Did a slow 4 miles this morning, I'll attempt some miles in the morning before chemo. Here's me and my lovely sis-in-laws on a training run on Sat (me sweating in the fake looking blonde wig, haha)

    image

  • JFL
    JFL Member Posts: 1,947
    edited May 2015

    Nancyh, you are a tough cookie with two upcoming half marathons! Especially since you are on chemo. What kind are you taking? Hope you are healing well from gamma.

    I am joining this thread to get inspired. My current goal is to do a 5 K in the Fall. I used to run half marathons but am not sure that will be possible again due to the extent of my bone mets. I have come leaps and bounds since diagnosis four months ago, where I could barely walk at all and one step up or down was pure torture. I can now walk at my normal (fast) pace, can take the stairs and have phased in running - I started at 1/4 mile and am up to 1 mile. I just listen to my body and try to tune in to ensure I am not overdoing it/putting myself at risk. It feels so good to get my heart rate up and sweat like that. Therapeutic!

  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited May 2015

    Screech, the weekend is fast approaching.

    Nancy, GREAT to hear from you and see you, too. Two half marathons? You show 'em!!

    Welcome, JFL! Slow but steady wins the race. 

  • teacher911
    teacher911 Member Posts: 853
    edited May 2015

    Nancy, Wonderful to hear from you and see you! You look great and very happy to hear that you were able to go with the gamma knife procedure. You are an inspiration! Good luck on those 1/2 marathons . We'll be cheering for you!

    Welcome to JFL, I am not a runner but I attempt to run/walk my way through 5K's I am in fact doing one this Saturday.

  • BionicBunny
    BionicBunny Member Posts: 146
    edited May 2015

    Nancyh-add me to those that will be cheering you on during those half marathons. The photo was great. You are such an inspiration and encouragement.

    Hope everyone has a good weekend. Screech-glad you are healing well and ready to go. Enjoy your 5k Teacher! JFL-sounds like you are doing well and have a good plan to get ready for your 5k. DH and I are planning on getting on the bikes tomorrow. Now I just have to keep from pedalling to the nearest ice cream stand...


  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited May 2015

    oh geez Bionic... DH bought peanut butter ice cream...I could scream...as I scoop a dish full.

    Screech...woohoo!!! Glad you're ready to get movin!

    Nancy...is gamma knife really that easy??? Or is it just your amazing attitude. Awesome you can motivate your SILs :-). Good luck training...this weekend will be beautiful!!!

    Teacher...have a great time tomorrow on your 5k!!!

    JFL...woohooo for healing & getting strength back!

    I've been getting good walks in...going up, up, up the hill 3.5 miles to grandson's baseball games. I got a camelback for Christmas but forgot about it & really didn't think 3.5 miles warranted it, but at hercep/perjeta Wed, kidney count was up. They did urinalysis, even though white count was good. They were pretty sure it was dehydration. No infection so I got the word that I need to be better about hydration. It's been warm...guess I've been slacking on drinking. Swimming & loving it. Trying to get at least a mile in..complete with visiting w/others & cramps in my toes.

    Heidi...how are you doing????

    Fujii...have you been riding lately????

    Happy weekend to all!!!

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