Nov 2013 Exercise Thread

[kiwiinoz]

Hi All,

Getting nice and warm in Sydney where I am located and had a few big bush fires (I think you call them wild fires in the US?) around us where we lost about 600 homes. To prevent more fires the fire service did some unannounced back burning (burning off fuel for any fires to consume) which meant the entire weekend was not the best for running outdoors but put a whole lot of smoke into Sydney. It was so bad that I could not see more than 500 yards clearly and it was like a really bad fog for Saturday morning.

Suffice to say I went running in the gym rather than suck up that gunk into my lungs (heck, that could be carciogenic) but was good in the sense that I was the only one in the gym that early on a weekend.

I am now hitting the 5 KM 4-5 times a week which officially puts me over the 18 METS needed to get some benefits from the studies into recurrance although it is fairly doubtful that this applies to a stage IV person. I love running so I am doing it all because it makes me feel a lot better.

Now that it is getting cooler in the US what else is everyone doing? I know I found it hard to get running in the winter (on Folfox too) but once I got out there I was really enjoying it.

Ray, you usually jump in on this thread, but with your upcoming operation for the new met, I don't think that will be on the books. Rob in PA was talking about exercising but he has a collapsed lung so can't see him running too much. What else has anyone else been doing?

Kiwi

[debb]

Hi,
I just ran the NY Marathon yesterday! My 1st ever marathon. I was supposed to run last year, but Hurricane Sandy caused it tobe cancelled. I ran as a member of Fred's Team, which raises money for cancer research at MSKCC. The money I raised...just short of $12,000...went directly to colorectal cancer research at MSKCC.

It was the most amazing experience! And I'm proud to have given back in some way to MSKCC for the amazing care and treatment I've received there.

I won't run today, and maybe not tomorrow, but as soon as my sore legs are ready, I'll be back on the trails. I was a runner before cancer invaded my life, and I am a runner still.

[MilwaukeeMal]

Winter is coming to The Badger State. The tundra will no longer support golf. My company has a dedicated exercise area, and I spend an hour before lunch working out, first some light weight-lifting alternating tread mill and the elliptical machine. But Wednesday is for a 40 minute power walk outside, provided the weather cooperates.

Makes you forget about the bad stuff when you can keep up with the Stage Zeros.......

[skypup]

I can't do any of my usual favorite things because of mets/nerve pain in legs, so I hope to make a splash doing laps in the swimming pool with no kick...

[kiwiinoz]

Hi Mal,
Wow, for a 62 year old with Stage IV CC you are doing great. If I ever do make it to 62 I'd love to be doing as well as you.
Kiwi

[Coppercent]

I was starting to become a runner when I got diagnosed. My oncologist and CRC surgeon encouraged me to continue. According to them it would help keep the side effects at bay. Which seems to have worked. I have to admit I did okay running but wasn't so structured. After my third slice and dice abdominal surgery and my reversal I started doing at least five miles on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If I miss a day I make it up the next day. These are appointments on my calendar that always need to be rescheduled if a conflict arises. The best side effect from the running is a regular bowel movement at the same time of day. I have not had that in 20 years. Now I am afraid to not run.

[Cherie]

Kiwi what does 18METS refer to?

My oncologist said exercise will double your life expectancy no matter what disease you are fighting. Across all diseases those who exercise live longer. I don't know how you do it I'm just so ill from chemo that walking is hard. Good on you.

[O Stoma Mia]

Kiwi what does 18 METS refer to?...

Cherie, METS are described here:

METS -- Metabolic Equivalents
.
.
"For cancer of the colon or rectum..18 MET a week is needed to have an ... effect..." p.204, Anticancer, by Dr. Davud Servan-Schreiber,

[horizon]

This thread just reminded me that I was going to start working on my core. Errrrr

[kiwiinoz]

Kiwi what does 18METS refer to?

My oncologist said exercise will double your life expectancy no matter what disease you are fighting. Across all diseases those who exercise live longer. I don't know how you do it I'm just so ill from chemo that walking is hard. Good on you.

Cherie
I'll be honest and let you know that whilst I ran on Folfox, as the weeks went by I ran less and less until I had to go to the ER for blockage at treatment #8 after which my neuropathy stopped me from running.
METS are metabolic equivalents which are simply a generic measurement for activities to enable you to compare different activities on a single scale.
For Colorectal Cancer there seems to be a fairly high degree of exercise involved to get to the point where it shows benefit. Breast Cancer is 50% less at 9 METS.

I agree that I do it as I have always exercised and having better health will always help, and since I finished Folfox I am starting to feel a lot better.

Kiwi

[Fred.R]

O Stoma:

Hey! Thanks for posting that link to the mets... I didn't understand what it was about, now I do.

And now I have a weekly minimum!

- F

[kiwiinoz]

Fred

achieving the weekly minimum is the hard part. When I feel like I am wanting to slack off as I am tired [or insert any other excuse] I think if another member Juliej that was on Xeloda for 12 months and had bad issues with her feet cracking, and her toenails falling off. She would wrap up each toe in a bandage, moisture up the feet and then go out for a 3 mile run several times a week.
I am just hitting the 3 mile mark again now and if I want to slack off I just think of how hard she had it, and the mental and physical toughness that she must have to have done that and it someone keeps it in perspective and gets me off my bum and on the road again.

Keep on keeping on I say.

Kiwi

[raym]

Out patient surgery yesterday, slow walk on the treadmill tonight at the Y. Not really exercising, just keeping things moving.

[Rob in PA]

You'd be proud of me kiwi....I got the treadmill I was researching and started on it two days ago despite the collapsed lung and dang if it didn't work (along with my breathing exercises with spirometer)! I feel better and can tell the lung has/is re-inflating. Doing a mile and a half each night at 4 mph (feels like a brisk walk). Don't exercise with machines so I don't know if that is good or bad

I do know the neurapathy makes it challenging to stay on the thing! Getting off is interesting too....very wobbly.


Onward

Rob

[juliej]

I am now hitting the 5 KM 4-5 times a week which officially puts me over the 18 METS needed to get some benefits from the studies into recurrance although it is fairly doubtful that this applies to a stage IV person. I love running so I am doing it all because it makes me feel a lot better.

Kiwi, 5 km! You are improving fast! I think you were only at 3.5 km in October. Isn't it great to feel your strength returning? My onc nurse used to say (behind my back), "that girl is a running fool." I love running. It's not easy to explain to people. The truth is it's very easy to work very hard at something when you get rewards - winning a race or running a personal best. But running on chemo takes a special kind of toughness. There are no personal bests, no winning races, just energy-sucking fatigue and feet so red and swollen that you wince every time you squeeze them into your running shoes. But running keeps my head in a good place. Now that I'm off chemo it feels good to run without pain (but still missing 3 toenails).

I got the treadmill I was researching and started on it two days ago despite the collapsed lung and dang if it didn't work (along with my breathing exercises with spirometer)! I feel better and can tell the lung has/is re-inflating. Doing a mile and a half each night at 4 mph (feels like a brisk walk).

Rob, it sounds like the spirometer and the treadmill are doing the trick. Full recovery from a pneumothorax may take a few weeks. Keep up the good work!

It's getting darker earlier in the day here and I'm having trouble adjusting. I keep stretching the daylight hours out further than they can really stretch. I was halfway up a long mountain trail yesterday before I realized I was going to be running down in the dark. I made it back in one piece thanks to a headlamp I had in my pack. At one point I slipped on something slick and looked down to see what tripped me. In the lamp light I could see a a pile of coyote scat (poop) so I guess I have company on the trail.