Similar to any good training plan, my chemo treatment plan has weeks that offload the strain on my body, intended to allow for healing and recovery, and to minimize the cumulative toxic effects of the drug regimen. Mostly that has been working well for me. Still, just like when you are two thirds through a build, where I find myself now is understanding the remaining weeks of treatment will be a grind. We all go through it.
Read moreTag: Chemotherapy
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Order of operations
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is about my treatment plan, and why chemo is happening before radiation instead of the other way around. Until it was posed to me, I hadn’t thought to even ask about the order. It turns out, practical, evidence-based reasons apply, though it still surprises me how new some treatment recommendations are. The order of operations really is tailored to individual circumstance.
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Fueling for the long run
I asked my medical oncologist today if this first cycle of chemotherapy could be looked at as a baseline — would it be repeatable over the next five rounds or should I expect something different each time? I was delighted when she said this should be the pattern and my experience should be similar each cycle. With the exception of two days of bone pain, and some general tiredness, I haven’t been bothered by a lot of the usual side effects.
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Finding a (new) baseline
When I signed up for my first half-marathon years ago, the idea of creating a training plan seemed daunting. But slowly, the plan did come together, helped by advice from my BFF, and other runners who had half-marathons and longer distances under their belt.
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Pre-race jitters: Chemo starts this week
I did a thing this last week — posting on my Facebook page about my diagnosis and what comes next with treatment. Though I’m not the biggest Facebook user these days, it seemed the best way to let my really wide circle of friends and colleagues know about what was going on in my life. I wanted to be able to tell my story first hand. It was also starting to feel weird that Facebook was the one place where I wasn’t talking about my diagnosis, and I didn’t want to be self-censoring my choice of platforms anymore.
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Everything changes
This post started last weekend, celebrating my first run on the mountain — a glorious way to spend Easter Sunday. After testing my legs on the treadmill at the gym, I was ready — though nervous — to see what it might feel like to run on the trails for the first time since surgery. And it was lovely, in all the ways you imagine.
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Running from hysteria 