Stage 4 Fitness 2015

officially have become a couch potato.. Watching my belly and butt grow. Now I'm a sexy mama!

)))

The 48th xeloda cycle starts next week.. Well, deal is deal. Still alive.. Hope to regain energy for a bit of exercise again. But now I can merely manage low-level movements to ignore pain & morphine as much as I can.

Hug

That sounds like good exercise advice, Nancy. You have a very impressive resume there. Hoping with you to see the TMs going down, and that the rise is just dead cancer. I know what you mean about the mental effect. I always feel so happy and alive when I dance. Other exercise, not so much, but I do feel like I am saying, "So there!" to cancer and cancer drugs.

Ebru, I hope your feel better soon. In the meantime, you can exercise your arm lifting a cup of tea, and I'll have one with you. Decaf green? Ginger with honey perhaps?

Shetland, I love dancing, too. But any kind of exercise makes me happy. I think not only of the meds getting to all the nooks and crannies as Wendy mentioned, but of all that extra oyxgen (10 times more with exercise than without) which our bodies could use to repair whatever damage cancer (or just life in general) has done to normal tissues. Yes, it is possible to improve upper body strength and become more flexible even with all the meds. I hired a personal trainer because I had no idea how to start a strength training program. In the end I did injure my knee from not having it sufficiently warmed up (I think) but I would say it was still worth learning the basics from the trainer and I should have stopped when he started doing more complex exercises. I learned later from a fitness class for seniors I was taking, you really need to prepare for any movement the body isn't used to. But then with all the exercise I did to strengthen that knee it still is stronger than before chemo. He also helped me become more flexible with assisted stretches. Anyway I did continue with upper body exercises (sloooowly progressing in view of lymphedema risk) on my own and made substantial headway. I never had biceps in my life but now I do. My shoulders are broader as well. Maybe the lack of estrogen helped???

Ebru, next year I'd like to drink some Turkish coffee with you. Istanbul is only four hours away.

Nancy, if I'm counting correctly, you've had more treatments than the 17 this woman has had who has lived with mets 18 years. If you can walk 4 miles, I'd say this could keep you going for many more years. You certainly know how to run those miles. I'd convert it to running kilometers because these are shorter...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2015/...

Kskier wow that's awesome so that I understand correctly you have had cancer for seven years. That's super awesome and gives someone like me lots of hope. Thank you time to take my dog for a walk..

Wendy

Hi sisters, I need some advice. I've been lurking without posting, feeling somewhere between a novice and a beginner. But I need some help on a bike. I used to run 5k 3x/week but for a year I've had to scale back. My spinal radiation and Affinitor treatment causes fatigue and SOB. Docs say my lungs sound great. I can inhale, it's the exhale that feels hard. I'm on intense pain meds for my bone mets in my ribs, pelvis, sitting bones. I do 5k 2x/week but it's half running, half walking, at best.

DH is in Ironman training. He suggested I try spin class, in hopes that maybe I could join him in class and maybe move on to bike rides with him. He lovingly adjusted my seat and pedals, told me not to push myself ... and ... 3 days later my sitting bones still feel like I was kicked (or something else ;-) very hard for an hour. No matter how I positioned myself on the seat, or how the resistance, cycling hurt my girly parts leaning forward and my sitting bones pedaling upright.

I've been thinking maybe the padding in cycling shorts would help. But I don't want to invest unless someone else with bone mets like mine has some encouraging words. Plus, the leaning over position makes it even harder to breathe. I LOVE running but with winter coming up, I was looking for something to do indoors (I hate treadmills and no longer live in a high rise; I used to climb steps when it was too cold to run.) I take Pilates a few times a month.

I took a couple of ibuprofen before class.

Any advice? Suggestions for less pain while pedaling? I'm grateful for your attention.

Heidi' s suggestions are good. I was also thinking of the recumbent bikes that most gyms have as a possible alternative to the spin bikes. Padded bike shorts can be challenging because they are pricey and come with so many options as far as the padding is concerned. It can take a few tries to find what works best for you. I have a pair of padded underwear that I have worn a lot that have been helpful on long rides. For winter riding another choice might be to put your own bike on a trainer in your house. Having the trainer at home lets you move around, stretch your back, hop off and walk around, etc. as needed. After my hip replacement, I had to start on my old cruiser on the trainer, eventually went to my hybrid, then on to the mountain bike, and finally the road bike-which DH and bike shop guys tweaked with an adjustable stem and moving everything to make it easier for me to reach. All to say, don't be discouraged if it takes a few tries and some time to find a comfortable ride. Hope you will soon be pedalling without pain!

That is great news on your tumor markers, Nancy!!!

I was enjoying crazy spring weather in the 60s in New York City. Just didn't feel right along with the Christmas decorations but happy to be able to bike all over town, even crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge, and picked up some hand-pulled noodles from Chinatown. Coming home our plane had to circle the city for an hour waiting for backed up planes and for the thick Zurich fog to break.

Lulubee how about yoga? I use a recumbent bike since my knee surgery it's comphey and easy on the joints.

I haven't done this myself, but tai chi looks very gentle. Or how about a rowing machine on a very low setting? At my gym they have an arm cycle ergometer, which I used when I had shoulder problems. This might be something to round out your workout.

Wow! Reading these posts and realized that I haven't been saying much lately. Took me awhile to get some energy going. Tried going on Ritalin, no luck this time. Switched to Provigil and I am getting better results.

Lulubee - Thanks for sharing that you've been on xeloda for 27 months. I'm only into my fourth month. It's been a challenge. It seems to be working along with tykerb. Nice to meet you btw.

Everyone else your conversations are inspiring. Glad to be back.

I tried to get Ritalin also but was told because of my high (but controlled) bp that it wasn't an option. My PCP is the one who suggested it but I am in Canada so don't know what the US oncs would allow.

Lulubee, very happy to see you back on bco! Kjones, I hope you can find something, even if just for short periods (like now!).

We went for a long hike as usual on Christmas day, usual at least for no snow days. Was limping along because of my knee but was worth it!

Wow, those Cervelos look really cool, TarheelMichelle! Hope the gel seat cover provides relief. LOL on the pilates machines' medieval look. Gentle torture, haha.

Doing more yoga and other gentle stretches to try to get my knee in shape. I think it's my hamstrings. I will make an appointment to see the physiatrist as this is getting annoying.

Dang....I feel like the world of exercise is spinning out of my reach when I read all of your posts.  Even with crappy ses, it always amazes me that we truly know what our bodies need.  I'm right there with you, Nancy, knowing my mental health is boosted by anything physical.  The rain has made me a bit of a "bed paperweight" too (you need to do stand-up Fujii!!!).

I've been away from here for a long time, so catching up is inspiring.  The picture of your DD & horse is a magazine cover, Kjones.  I'm not that fond of horses (my feet were magnets for their feet when I was a child, so they sort of freak me out)...but kids..awwww. I can imagine how worrisome your ses have been so cheering that  your scan was still stable!!!   Heidi...so awesome you were in New York for the holidays.  I love your adventures & so hope you get coffee with Nancy.  Many of my nurses are Ethiopian and one, who I put 2&2 together and met her DD at a Fred Meyer store (she's a checker), has invited me to her home for coffee.  

Bionic...I'm sorry the scan showed progression...hopeful the next tx will knock it back down again.  Just seeing your name always makes me think you have super powers!   Andi...awesome pics..the scenery is great, but you and DH are the best part!

I am covered in bruises on my legs...a very good thing???  My DD and I did a very large part of moving her family from our son's house, where they lived for 7 years, and he finally sold!  DH had hip revision surgery & DD 2's family was in OR for the holidays...so it was just us. They did hire some help for one day.  They had to be out 12/23 & her DH (using that term lightly right now), worked.  So...packing, hoisting boxes, lifting bikes, dozens of Goodwill trips, the dump, loading vans...all around a 2 yr old, was my exercise!   Got a gift certificate for the yoga studio by our place from DD so need to find some time to meet with the owner for a consult.  I tried acupuncture on 11/30...mostly to see if it would put me in a place where I could go off my prozac (my perjeta replacement...HA!).  I think my body went into attack mode.  I've felt crummy ever since...sorry to whine.  Also haven't had blood or TMs for 2 months-because they've been so good. Ugh.  This is when I need walking alone time.  BUT...I also got something crazy fro DS...time in a Float Tank.  I'm so excited to try it...floating for an hour in a sort of pod shaped capsule. The water is body temp/Epsom salts.  I know it's not good to overdo magnesium so I'll clear it w/onc, but I'm happiest floating in a pool & so will try it!  Btw...I used to do tai chi...it's amazing.  I need to find more me time but being with our littles seems to win these days.  Sorry to blab...have missed being with you.  It's so hard to keep up with all the threads I love...

kjones, that's total BS. They've been giving Ritalin to little children for DECADES. What the hell is wrong with TRYING it on a fatigued Stage IV patient? Why do they think it's necessary to pinpoint what's causing your fatigue before prescribing something, anything, to help?

I am not a fan of ADD meds. I had two stepsons on them when the meds were being over-prescribed. And I've taken them myself. But they DO help.

It's a FACT that women with Stage IV breast cancer are reporting some degree of success when using Ritalin to combat fatigue. This "we don't know much about it" makes me LAUGH, like a maniac in need of klonopin.

Geez!!!

I asked my MO at Sloan-Kettering about medical marijuana for pain control. I told her "I'm not looking for an excuse to get high. I don't know much about it, but I've been reading a lot." My MO says, "ask your pain doctor, you have my blessing." My pain doctor at Sloan-Kettering says "nope, don't know anything about it. Sorry."

Do these people not read the news? I'd be fine if my pain doctor said "I don't recommend it for you." But to be ignorant about medical marijuana, or to feign ignorance, bothers me

I know this is off topic, but only slightly, because if I had more energy and less pain, I'd be exercising!