Stage 4 Fitness 2015

the weekend is finally here and to celebrate the restrictions being lifted I went on a non-technical rock climb/hike.  It was great!  Can't wait to get in a bike ride today!

gals,

You all are my heroes!! I'm still a couch potato (( need to get up and move I KNOW. But Xeloda kills my half day off, I sleep so deep in the afternoons. I have to wake up early - which I cannot do right now- to get daily things done and sleep before DS arrives from school.

Not an excuse I know. Does writing on this thread burn calories? : D

I hope I'll start walking again soon.

Thank you all for the motivation. Reading your posts help so much!

Hugs

Ebru

Hi to all--regular visitors, intermittent visitors, new folks, and lurkers! It's so endearing and inspiring to see photos and read stories of people doing their best, however that shapes up and out or even down for a rest when needed. Heidihill, thanks so much for the link to the pectoralis massage. My MDs all think I have great range of motion and flexibility, but I do have a sore, tight spot on the inside top of my arm that I have been trying to address on my own. Kooky, right? I don't appear to have "enough of an issue" to warrant referral to PT (aka meeting insurance criteria for PT), but I am still considering massage with a myofascial component. I've visited one local massage therapist, but my experience left me lukewarm at best. I may have found another to try. Some massage therapists seem freaked out by my complicated body/health status, so I know I need one with LOTS of experience. Hope you do well with your visits!

Doing relatively well with keeping up an exercise routine. Walked today for 35 minutes, needed rest for recovery from angina, but no nitro. YAY! I don't judge myself when I need nitro, I am relieved to have it available and so helpful, but it's nice to recover on my own at least once in a while. Yesterday I was only able to do stretching for 20 minutes, but at least I stretched! Don't have the energy to say more but want you all to know that I am thinking of you and hoping for enjoyable activity on whatever level you can manage.

So I am looking for inspiration and have found some. Yeah! February I said i was doing a half marathon...bucket list or something crazy like that.....then WBR hit me hard and I am still barely able to move 2 miles a day. Half marathon in JULY! Any thoughts?

I am still so amazed some of you are doing half marathons, especially on chemo and/or with bone mets! So many rock stars here!!!

Edited to reinsert an exclamation point. Is it just me or does anyone else's punctuation get cut off when you submit your posts on this website?!

I have done two so far this year, one in Las Vegas and the other 3 weeks ago in Delaware. Before the diagnosis, I was trying to do 1 in half the U.S. states, and had gotten up to 14. Now at 16 and have two more scheduled this summer. I find if I slow it down a bit and walk part of it, it is quite do-able. I am on eribulin which so far has been very kind to me (other than hair loss, which has been pretty significant). Trying to cram them in while it's still possible.

Just caught up on the last 5 pages of this topic.

ronniekay, congratulations on the remission report from your doctor. 👏🏼💃🏼🎉 I'm inspired by ladies getting to NED and remission and all those other words we love to hear.

nred2002, the cancer nutritionist at the conference you attended, Julie Langford, works for Cancer Services in the city where I live. She's a great resource and I'm glad you were able to hear her.

I had to stop running from Nov. thru March because of pneumonitis, followed by leg numbness, all treatment side effects. I get frustrated when it's the treatment, not the cancer, that limits my activity. I started walking in March and now am at a 5k walk/run 3x a week. My lungs are still weak. I have to run, then walk or rest, repeat. I look at my pace on my Nike run app afterward and it's S-L-O-W. No improvement whatever in speed. I remind myself to be grateful that I have two legs that work.

My husband is training for triathlons and healthy living is important to us. It's tough for me to stay in shape with Stage IV but it's hard for my husband, too, with his insane travel schedule for work.

I was unable to tolerate Afinitor at 10 or 7.5 mg, but it's working on my cancer, so I'm trying one more time, a 2.5 dose. I had a couple of glorious weeks with no cancer meds.

Thanks for posting your activities, everyone. You give me perspective and help me stay motivated.

Best wishes to everyone on your fitness goals.

Hello everyone-Decided it's time for me to catch up too. So nice to hear from all you fitness gals. The past week has been busy and eventful. On the busy side I am swamped with work (I have a new boss), and our house is a mess, redoing bathroom. The eventful part is that my husband wrecked his bike last Saturday. We were about 7 miles into the ride when he went over the front of the bike. We still aren't sure what happened. He was knocked out and ended up being taken to the ER by ambulance. He had a concussion, bruises, and a couple of scrapes. Thank the Lord nothing more serious than that. His helmet was cracked in several places. The ER doc said it probably saved his life-so be sure to buckle up!

In addition to biking I've been walking, trying to increase my endurance. I have to make any type of increase (distance, speed, or intensity) in very tiny increments.

I guess my answer to EPO is beet juice. A year ago after a bad chemo incident (and 8 days in the hospital) I could barely walk from the bed to the bathroom. When I finally got back on the bike, I was breathless and exhausted after riding 2 miles. I started drinking a small amount of beet juice every day and I think it helped. It's not my favorite beverage but I drink it anyway.

Better wrap this up. Chemo first thing tomorrow morning. Then I am avoiding the bathroom de-construction by going for a bike ride with DD.

You are all amazing and inspiring-keep going, ladies!

hello ladies! so so happy to read about everyone's incredible strength and commitment -- seriously inspiring. I've been on a break from the boards since mid-November (wasn't intentional, just kinda happened) and just got caught-up on the last 4 or so months of posts - everyone is doing a phenomenal job! I missed this - I already feel much less isolated and much more motivated - thank you!

had bi-mx, anld & expanders in November - luckily, all went smoothly. I'd worked hard (& did a great job!) to get in shape for surgery, so the docs gave me the ok for 'lite' exercise post-op (waist down, no weight-bearing/raising arms & no high heartrate). a few days after surgery I managed most of a mat pilates class - probably not the wisest thing physically, but I'd kill if I lost that awesome core I'd developed! after a few weeks, I got back to tennis and returned to pilates full-speed ahead. instructor had me doing exercises for recovery from mx/alnd - wasn't the most fun, but helped a lot. was doing pt for cording, but that wasn't really too helpful. docs thought the pilates exercises were great.

before I knew it, it was time for rads. logistical issues at home so I was treated out-of-state where I could manage on my own. stayed near the hospital for the six weeks. wasn't ideal, and I spent a lot of time alone (pros & cons to that), but there were exercise silver linings: found an incredible pilates instructor and did 2-3x/week all the way through - even if I couldn't lie on my back (or front) by the end of it. due to the facility layout, I was also walking about 5 miles/day (found out when a friend showed me the cool "heart" app on iphone - thing had been tracking me all along!).

so, I managed to stay pretty freaking active throughout rads and think it helped infinitely. docs & nurses were thrilled with my condition & I felt pretty empowered despite increasing physical exhaustion. exercise also really helped alleviate some of the mental/emotional exhaustion from spending 4- 6+ hours/day in a hospital for six weeks (while there had other stuff evaluated & was able to improve some SEs). I really don't know how I would have made it through without exercise.

I think walking 5 miles/day (broken-up throughout the day) really made the biggest difference for me - my body aches eased-up even more and mentally, it did wonders. I'd been walking 2-3 miles per day and was very active for most of the year, but bumping it up to 5 seemed to be a magic number.

I've been trying to keep that up but it's tough to do at home. been traveling a lot the last few months (finally for fun and not for treatment!!) and it's incredible how effortlessly I can hit 5 miles in urban areas. really yearning for a move back to a city - driving has become a huge energy-drain and I'm still not really up for 5 miles at one time. hoping reading here about all of your great activity will help motivate me.

health-wise - things are pretty good/okay. turned-up with anemia (they're calling it radiation-induced) that's upped fatigue & made me one of the world's best sleepers - can nap anytime, anywhere! (nice to know it's not "emotional fatigue" as folks had been trying to tell me. hmph.) had an indeterminate PET in April (first scan since the all-clear PET in October) and because of expanders couldn't get an MRI to check for progression. 50/50 chance for gut-interference on PET or progression in liver. so, moved up the expander/implant exchange & will get the MRI a few days later -- should know how things look 3rd week of June. hasn't been ideal to wait all this time, but been working hard at having fun, staying in shape and enjoying as much as possible. hoping for only good news in a couple of weeks.

this week: bombed on the walking (after over 5mi/day last week) but did make it to pilates 4 times. not too upset though, was pretty under-the-weather and am happy I got in what I did. feeling better today and hoping to hit the 5mi daily total.

hope all are out enjoying a wonderful weekend!

lovvvved the pics with the ponies!! makes me want to take a peek around for a place to get on a horse.

coeur d'alene --- I think fujimama mentioned back in February --- been dreaming of going there! just looks like such an enchanted place. trying to plan a girls' trip before winter with some high school friends. will have to hunt down that ice cream delicacy you described!

Eons ago (the 70s and early 80s) we used to drive down to Coeur D'Alene (sp) for the July 1 (Canada Day) July 4 celebrations and celebrate we did - there were thousands of Canadians there and we all brought children - loved the Parade and the fireworks and the nightlife - it truly was a magical place - glad to hear it still is.

spicy… wall-sits in the infusion room?! You crazy woman you, I love it. I continue to be inspired!

Chemo has slowed me down, but I was happy to make it through my Pure Barre dvd yesterday. Even the ab part, which was giving me so much rib pain before but maybe, just maybe, things are improving. In any case, it felt so good. Exercise has always been as much mental as physical for me, and I have to remind myself to push through… especially now!

Wishing you all a fun and active summer. I'm always checking in here, and thinking of you all.

Rose.

If anyone want to link up on Fit Bit I'm Dana K.

Bionic flash floods are no fun. I like riding in the rain. Makes me feel like I should be on Man from Snowy River!

Sorry I am not on fit bit.