Am I blessed or just lucky?

Bigfuzzydoug

Jimbo55 said:

The Jinx
Doug, Yeah I was the same way, I was worried about the jinx also. Like you, I didn't have it too bad during treatment, but didn't want to bring it up too much in case it turned around on me and bit me in the butt, so to speak. The worst part for me was the last week of treatment and the 1st week post tx. But 4-5 days after tx ended, I started to feel better and the improvement has continued pretty steadily since. I am now 8 weeks out and feeling good. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself!!) I hope your recovery mirrors mine, big guy.

Have you continued working out/exercise during treatment? I tried to stay active during treatment and believed that helped with fatigue and recovery. Cheers

Jimbo

Getting "bit in the butt"
I just thought that comment was kind of funny considering your avatar pic. :-)

I've continued to exercise throughout the treatments, although it's way down. No pool swimming because the docs don't want my skin in chlorine and I've haven't done any open water swims in the lake. No biking and the running has regressed down to just 1-mile walks. My old morning routine of 250 push-ups & sit-up/crunches is way down to just 50 of each and I haven't gone to the gym at all. I have kept up with my yoga though although I have to go real easy on anything involving the neck.

It's all been just easy stuff just trying to "maintain". I agree about it helping with the fatigue and recovery.

Skiffin16

sweetblood22 said:

Aww. Sorry that it's getting
Aww. Sorry that it's getting worse for you. I honestly would cry Monday mornings cause I didn't want to go. I would start to feel a little better Monday and I didn't want to get zapped again. By wednesday I would start getting nausea after rads. I was sleeping a lot too. But I was on 75mcgs of Fentanyl and then the benedryl they said to take. Forget it. I would get home and pass out and nap for three hrs. Ugh. Hang in there. I am impressed that you are working thru rads! I couldn't because my company would not bend any rules for me. (minimum 48 hrs a week, must work 8 hrs at least every fri, sat and Monday mandatory. Two 12 hr days. My job was too physical anyway. ) I was so fatigued and sick that I'm not sure I could have worked thru even with a desk job.

Mondays
Though I never got sick during treatment...Mondays were always especially hard. I remember just thinking on Sundays about starting it all again the next day, just the thought would make me nauseous...

Best,
John

Chewy2009

sweetblood22 said:

I don't know if it's blessed
I don't know if it's blessed or luck. Does that mean I wasn't blessed because my side effects were so severe? But what I do know is that I am glad and very happy for you that your side effects are minimal and managable! Hope it continues!!

Blessed
I did not say I was blessed, only that I feel blessed. I definately did not mean that you were less blessed for all that you have endured - I am truely sorry if it came across in that manner. This definately was not part of my "plan" - it did not fit in with what I had planned for my life. I can say my friends and family have been an absolute blessing to me. I wish you well!

patricke

BLESSED
I too vote blessed, so that's deffinitely something to count. It's been awhile (10 years) since my radiation treatment (35 sessions, base of tongue), but I remember it well (nightmarishly). I was wiped out, and doing one pushup or crunch was just not happening. I'm glad that you are able to stay active, keep it going!

PATRICK

Hondo

patricke said:

BLESSED
I too vote blessed, so that's deffinitely something to count. It's been awhile (10 years) since my radiation treatment (35 sessions, base of tongue), but I remember it well (nightmarishly). I was wiped out, and doing one pushup or crunch was just not happening. I'm glad that you are able to stay active, keep it going!

PATRICK

Hi Partick

You are a 10 year survivor, I do hope you plan to stay and become part of the CSN Family, a lot of us stay to help others who are just starting the race reach the finish line. Either way thanks for sharing

dennis318

Bigfuzzydoug said:

Getting "bit in the butt"
I just thought that comment was kind of funny considering your avatar pic. :-)

I've continued to exercise throughout the treatments, although it's way down. No pool swimming because the docs don't want my skin in chlorine and I've haven't done any open water swims in the lake. No biking and the running has regressed down to just 1-mile walks. My old morning routine of 250 push-ups & sit-up/crunches is way down to just 50 of each and I haven't gone to the gym at all. I have kept up with my yoga though although I have to go real easy on anything involving the neck.

It's all been just easy stuff just trying to "maintain". I agree about it helping with the fatigue and recovery.

How Do You Do IT?
Constantly tired, How do you mustard the energy to exercise. I went on a hike today and stopped a few times for air, mentally and physically trying to make it till january, How Hard has it been mentally for you, that's my problem, it's easy to tell someone to seek help, I am tired of going threw cancer...best to you Doug and all. Dennis in Tennessee

Jimbo55

dennis318 said:

How Do You Do IT?
Constantly tired, How do you mustard the energy to exercise. I went on a hike today and stopped a few times for air, mentally and physically trying to make it till january, How Hard has it been mentally for you, that's my problem, it's easy to tell someone to seek help, I am tired of going threw cancer...best to you Doug and all. Dennis in Tennessee

Dennis
It sounds somewhat counter-intuitive, but getting a modicum of daily exercise can actually help with the fatigue we all experience during treatment. It may also help lessen the severity of some of the side effects from the radiation/chemo. Set a goal of going out for a walk everyday, whether its for 10 minutes, 25 minutes whatever. So what if you need to stop and rest, that's no biggie. It will give you a sense of accomplishment each day and also may help with your fatigue. I tried to walk for 30 minutes each day. At the beginning of my treatment, a 45 minute walk was no problem. By the time treatment was over, I could barely make 25 minutes and then had to sit down on a bench for 5-10 minutes to rest. Cheers

Jimbo