Daily Quote: "'You can not only beat cancer,' says Issie, "but you can thrive and do amazing, wonderful, and crazy things.'" --Issie Pelc, Runner's World Magazine, July 2011, pg 28, Human Race Section, article "Outrunning Cancer"
The above quote is about Cancer struck Issie Pelc (lymphoma) and his wife, Shelley (ovarian cancer), in a three-year span. To raise $80,000 for the Toronto hospital where they were treated, Pelc, 60 ran a marathon a month for 39 months --finishing in June 2010 with his 60th career marathon. Indeed, it is an "amazing, wonderful, and crazy things!!"
My own future running goals are pretty much in the air. I've already registered for the 2011 Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon for this coming December, and planned on running the marathon as my victory lap over cancer, but I am concerned about my upcoming marathon training as I've lost muscle and endurance during the cancer treatments and must return to running as a beginner. Nevertheless, I'll listen to my body and determine what I can safely manage, I may have to downgrade to the half marathon, as I plan to train conservatively with my "baby steps, baby steps" mantra.
Yesterday, before my chemotherapy treatment, I had a chat with my oncologist, Dr. Parks, who said that this ninth chemotherapy treatment (had chemo every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m - 1:45 pm.) will be my last chemo for now. My next appointment with Dr. Parks will be on August 23rd when he'll schedule me for a PET Scan. WOW!! No more three hours treatments of poisoning my blood! No more blood tests on Monday as a prerequisite for the chemo! No more spending most of Tuesday and Wednesday in bed recuperating from the deep fatigue due to the chemo! I'm so upbeat and optimistic I could burst!!!
I still have five weeks of radiation treatments for my right lung and upper chest on Monday-Friday at 9:00 a.m., but that feels like a taper now! The radiation treatments are more precise pin pointing and isn't as physically draining as poisoning my whole blood stream, nevertheless, the radiation treatments are painful on my pecs and sometimes food has a problem reaching my stomach and wants to return uphill, radiation is also fatiguing...but, I can manage it.
My throat is totally healed, and can now eat solid foods!! Last Friday I overdid it as I had a "hearty breakfast bowl" at Jack-n'-the Box Restaurant, which had too spicy sausage that caused vomiting the next day...I still should eat bland foods for the duration of my treatments. I asked my radiologist if I could have my feeding tube surgically removed soon, but he said I should keep it on for the duration just in case my tongue still has cancer, which the PET scan after August 23rd will ascertain. DRATS! I was hoping that I could start a more strenuous walking/jogging program soon, but will listen to the advice of my doctors and place emphasis on resting and recuperating instead.
Watched the movie "Dodgeball" on television last night...I had the biggest laugh in a long time during the Lance Armstrong's cameo, which you can see here.
Time for my afternoon nap due to yesterday's LAST CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT!!
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3 comments:
Bruce...I'm so glad to hear you so upbeat and bursting with optimism!!!
That's super! The hardest part is definitely over..... and your optimism is well founded.
Fantastic clip! lol! Thanks for sharing!!
Good to hear that you are approaching the end of treatment!
And dont worry about that breakfast bowl - it makes even the strongest of stomachs a bit queasy ;)
The end of Chemo is a beautiful thing! Keep up the great work and even though you will have a lot of ground to make up when you start marathon training, you are definitely not at square one because you haven't lost all the things that you learned and your body will remember and come back much faster than if you were building up for the first time!
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