Exercise and Cancer
unsure if this has been posted before but here is a link for a doco on catalyst on the ABC. Before I started teaching, I was an exercise physiologist. This study is very very interesting and promising. I know it is hard for people to exercise throughout chemo but here is a doco on the benefits. As I know about the benefits of exercise and cancer from previous study I have continued to exercise: walking 3 times a week, yoga once or twice as well as started back doing gym work. I feel it has helped with my side effects. And received an amazing compliment from a doctor the other day that has never met me before (I don't know whether to say it or not as well I don't want to jinx myself haha). here it is: Watching Catalyst Series 17 Ep 14 Exercise And Cancer in iview http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/catalyst/SC1502H014S00
High intensity excercise for joint pain
Has anyone had any experience with high intensity excercise to combat joint pain from arimidex? Having been on the tablets for 9 months I am quite sore. I take panadol osteo which helps but some days I just feel like I have run out of steam and don't want to fight the pains. A quiet day snd lots of walking helps. My surgeon told me about the Exmed group. They specialize in workouts for cancer patients. I have never been to a gym. Has anyone had any experience with this?
Sore Muscles
Did anyone else notice during chemo they seemed to have tired muscles. Admittedly I didn’t exercise much at the start of the year with 3 surgeries but am normally very active. Have started to get back into my running and have noticed that my leg muscles just seem to be very tired and not as strong. Wondering if anyone else had this problem.
Exercise during chemotherapy
I am halfway through my chemotherapy today. I have walked almost every day during treatment so far. I like walking and did it a fair bit before BC. When I was diagnosed I asked about what I could do, and was advised to eat well (a very nebulous statement with which I was NOT satisfied, and rectified soon after with visits to an excellent dietician) and exercise. I was informed that the latter had been proven to reduce side effects and fatigue. I am having TC chemo. Bloody awful, and so far, Day 3 - 5 sees me king hit with fatigue. I walk early, 1.5kms and that's me done for the day. By afternoon I can't even sit upright. However by Day 6 I've been managing 3kms and through the rest of the 21 day cycle I slowly build up to 5 - 6kms. I've been hit with a host of physical side effects, but so far they're sitting in the low to medium band of irritation. Nausea, constant low level headache, reflux, sore nail beds, itchy sore plams & soles, gritty eyes, dry nose, and a few more I can't recall now! Has anyone out there walked through their chemo? If so, how have you found it?
Gratitude
Since being diagnosed with bc 3 and a bit years ago, I have had to learn how to cope with some major challenges. This week I am taking part in Turia Pitt's 7 Day Champion Challenge. There are many women who have faced a bc diagnosis taking part in the free challenge. The aim is to learn how to live an 'epic' life, something Turia has first hand experience with (google her if you are not familiar with her story). Our first challenge was to come up with 3 things that we are grateful for. Many of the people taking part have also faced huge challenges in their life. What Turia and many of us have found is that before you are really challenged with something major (like a life-threatening event or illness) you just don't think about how many terrific things you have to be grateful for. Then BOOM! Your life is changed in an instant and suddenly you wonder if you are going to ever get through this challenge and get back to all those ordinary things that you now have a new appreciation of. During the long months of treatment I did learn to be very grateful for what I called 'the small things'. I was grateful on the days when my eyes did not hurt from chemo effects, grateful when the nausea eased, grateful when my taste buds returned, grateful when I could get out and have a coffee with a friend and I could go on and on. What most people have found (I think there are over 4000 of us doing the challenge) is that is actually really hard to just stop at 3 things that we are grateful for! My 3 things were: 1. Surviving bc. 2. Having the support of family and friends. 3. Recovering and becoming fit enough to trek to Everest Base Camp this year and raise money for the Cancer Council with the support of family and friends. There are so many tough times in all our lives (not just the bc tough times) but thinking about what we are grateful for can help us live the best life possible, even when the going is tough! That is something worthwhile, something I want to get better at. Reading the responses of others has been very uplifting and thought provoking, so I thought I'd share this idea on here. Don't feel you have to stop at 3 :)
