The Big Haircut
Yesterday was a big day. The big haircut day. It was the thing that I have been dreading since probably as long ago as the time when I...
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HANGING ON TO FITNESS AND A FEW STRANDS OF HAIR DURING BREAST CANCER TREATMENT
My N of 1 Experiment
WELCOME TO MY EXPERIMENT
Hanging on to Fitness and a Few Strands of Hair Through Breast Cancer Treatment
I am a Medical Oncologist, a wife, a mother of 4, runner of 12 marathons training to run my 13th with a goal to qualify for Boston when the diagnosis of breast cancer caused a significant detour in my well-planned life. When I asked for guidance on how to continue to stay fit while receiving treatment, I received blank stares and found little data. While I never intended to be in this experiment, I find myself now generating my own data about fitness through the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. I am writing this in hopes to help others who find themselves in this same situation.
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The Day I was Supposed to Run the Marathon
Today was the day that I had planned to run the Sugarloaf Marathon. I celebrated by wearing my special Oiselle singlet and headed out...
Wisdom Wednesday: Can exercise decrease the risk that my cancer will return?
Exercise has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was a competitive gymnast and ski racer as a kid and picked up running...
The Sunset Run
Today was the day of the Sunset Run, a 2.3 mile fun run that was created by 2 of Grace’s classmates 3 years ago as a middle school...
First Post Chemo Run
It is 2 days after my first chemotherapy. I don’t feel horrible. I don’t feel normal, but it is hard to describe exactly how I feel. Some...
First Chemo Day
Today is the big day where I literally get a taste of my own medicine. Again, funny that for myself, I have avoided taking any medication...
The Starting-Line for Chemotherapy
Tomorrow I start chemotherapy. I am not feeling the same excitement and enthusiasm as I did the day before surgery. I spoke to a friend...
The Medical Oncology Visit
Today I saw the medical oncologist. She recommends that I receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Dose dense adriamycin + cytoxan x 4 cycles...
The Post-Op Visit
I just got back from seeing my surgeon for my post-operative visit. Lots of good news: The incision is healing well. I get to resume...
The Surgery
Day 1 after surgery and I am feeling great! Especially emotionally. It feels so good to get this step in this treatment process behind...
The Last Weekend Run Before Surgery
This is the last weekend before surgery. It feels like I am approaching a dark dividing line in my life. The line that separates the me...
The Charlottesville 10 Miler
I care a lot about what I put in my body. I avoid eating packaged foods that contain preservatives. I prefer organic foods. I don’t even...
The Track Workout
My training schedule typically involves some type of hard effort interval training either on Tuesday or Wednesday each week. I typically...
The Visit with the Surgeon
Today was the initial visit with the surgeon. He discussed the options: lumpectectomy vs mastectomy. The randomized studies comparing...
The Race Instead of the Long Run
Today I was scheduled to run 20 miles per my training plan. Although the radiologist who did my biopsy did not think that a 20 mile run...
The Diagnosis
So much for pretending that I was fine for 3 more days. It was really not possible to pretend that I was fine. I was not fine. But I was...
The Day of the Big Life Detour
The day started as a typical Monday morning with running intervals and weight training at Formula Fitness. Next up, my “call back”...
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