Exercise and breast cancer

13

Comments

  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,731 ✭
    Hi
    Thank you but nothing suitable near home
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974 ✭
    @iserbrown Just wanted to let you know that I looked into the Ex-Med programme, applied and will be starting in September. That will be perfect timing for me and I'm really looking forward to it. Would love to hear from you how you are finding it if you are comfortable with sharing.
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,731 ✭
    Woo hoo!  You will enjoy it!  I had my GP fill out the necessary paperwork for approval by Ex-med.
    I've had my two assessments and Matt, who is looking after me, was surprised at the weakness I have on my left side, which is one of my goals to improve the strength.  It is a tailored program to the individual and the group classes start for me on the 28th May.  

    I found the questionnaire stirred my emotions as my diagnosis and a few other things I had put away but they were awakened by this.  The purpose of this Ex-med Cancer program is to assess the benefits of the exercise on Cancer patients.  They are hoping the success will allow the program to be rolled out further afield.

    Our group is all female, 8 breast cancer, one lymphoma and one hodgkinsons lymphoma.  Last term it was a mixture of male and female and the males with Prostrate Cancer.

    My Onc is impressed that I have started it and asked how I heard about it, which is here through BCNA, Fiona
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974 ✭
    @iserbrown The woman I spoke to asked how I'd heard of it and I told her through a trusted source on the BCNA forum... that's you sista!
  • Wildplaces
    Wildplaces Member Posts: 81 ✭
    edited May 2018
    Happy to be reading the above :)
  • tigerbeth
    tigerbeth Member Posts: 539 ✭
    @kmakm that will be good, I looked at that too but wasn't sure that the locations would suit me .
    Which one will you attend ?
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974 ✭
    @tigerbeth Hawthorn. It was really the only one that made geographic sense!
  • tigerbeth
    tigerbeth Member Posts: 539 ✭
    Yes that's what I would choose too , not sure it would be doable with work & dads appts !!
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974 ✭
    @tigerbeth I consider myself very fortunate that I can dedicate the rest of the year to recovery.
  • melclarity
    melclarity Member Posts: 3,528 ✭
    @iserbrown I think you'll thoroughly enjoy it, it sounds very much like the Enhance Program that the Epworth runs. I did that in 2016 as part of my rehabilitation it was great and then onto an Exercise Physiologist post that. All of this should be available to everyone with no cost.

    Unfortunately, some do carry costs and then there are people that are so remote in rural areas that just don't have anything readily available, so there are still flaws with it. Hopefully things can change in the future. I went back to work 6 weeks post chemo 3 days a week and for 18 months dedicated 1 day a week to the program at rehab and then the Exercise Physiologist. I've always recommended anyone especially Cancer patients of any kind to see one as they are trained in this area. Knowing what I know now, there is NO way I would have been able to have effectively exercised myself to recovery. Majority of mine was stretching with a build up in cardio gradually. Exercise is great and it will give you a new sense of achievement...post all the trauma and on the road to recovery. I only do it because it makes me feel good, nothing more...unfortunately as we have already walked our paths, so we will walk our new one with no control..so being happy in what we do is everything. x
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,731 ✭
    edited May 2018
    I saw the Enhance brochure in the Oncs waiting room at the Epworth yesterday. 
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,731 ✭
    I am now into week 5 of the Ex-med cancer programme!  
    I am suffering fatigue but at least I can partially say the tiredness/fatigue is because of exercising, lol!  Each week they up the ante and I hate the gym so I am counting down the sessions.  It has awakened muscles I forgot I had and the journey to and from for each session adds to the incidental exercise.  

    I do enjoy the company of others and if one of the group is next to me on the Treadmill the time flies as we natter away!  We all have our aches and pains and the common theme is we didn't expect all these hidden extras (side effects) from it all!
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974 ✭
    edited June 2018
    I did my third exercise physiology class this morning @iserbrown. I worked up a sweat, got very hot and am now thoroughly exhausted! It is an hour's worth of exercises and boy does it work me out! Run by Eastern Health in Melbourne. I can thoroughly recommend it. I'm enjoying it.
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,731 ✭
    The programme is good and tailored. It's me personally that hates the gym. Always have and always will but I am smart enough to know it's doing me good but I'm still counting down 23 sessions to go!
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092 ✭
    @iserbrown I walk daily for an hour.Exercise and silence are not favourites of mine. So I bought a runners armband ($5on eBay) , got the kids to put e audio books and music on my phone .I happily hit the pavement using it as thinking time and barely notice I am exercising. I bought the armband as I tripped one day with my phone in my hand damaging the screen and me a bit.

Categories