Chemo and IM Training

First off, I'm sorry you and your family are going through this. I know it's a scary, anxious time. The advice about spending time with your family is great, and true. As a spouse/caregiver, it takes a toll on your family. My husband and I had many a conversation-that he initiated-during his treatment, where at times he felt it was harder on me and his parents, than himself. He just had to 'deal' with waking up every day and getting treatment, while I had to take care of EVERYTHING: driving, cooking, cleaning, shopping, making sure he is eating, making sure he isn't sick(er), filtering the visitors, etc. It's a heavy burden sometimes. Most of the time it's fine, but comparing to a marathon, there were days that it was the 'wall' and overwhelming.

Interesting point the other poster brought up: what does your Dr. say? My husbands team were fully supportive of him working out (no marathons or very hard efforts, but he could do what he was capable of) on his treatment cycle, but he could do whatever he wanted on his recovery cycle. Have you asked your team what is appropriate levels of activity during treatment? In my experience, they encourage to do as much as you can, but that's not always the case.

ANYWAY....that's not what you wanted to hear, my apologies! hahaha. Guess I needed to get that out.

His treatment was 13months. 1 week on, 3 off. He got it the first week of every month. By day 2-3 he wasn't that functional to do anything but laying around the house until mid-way through the second week. He couldn't really even attempt to workout. If we 'went out' or he had to do something, he would require a nap. Around the 12-14 day mark, he'd feel a whole lot better and would start light workouts or walking. Then, he'd workout as much as he could (not hours or anything) the 2 weeks of 'recovery' before starting the next cycle. He'd ride his bike, run, lift weights, try to eat a lot more to keep from losing too much....

At the end of the last treatment, Feb. 2012, he ran the Livestrong Marathon. 2 weeks after his last chemo treatment, post-2 surgeries in 2 years. He ran a 3:33, taking 3rd in the Cancer Survivor category. He's now considering trying to qualify for Boston. He did the Double Ironman relay this year and is training for it again. So, overall, he's gotten it all 'back'.

His treatment seems to be very different than yours, but the experience is still quite similar. Don't resign yourself to being slower. Just do what you can, when you can. Your body needs to HEAL. Staying healthy during treatment is a great gift you can give yourself (we wouldn't go to big public places, or even family gatherings with kids while he was immunocompromised). And finally, while other treatments and cancers may be different, the emotional experience is usually always similar. It's hard for everyone. Don't accept how others fare before/after, your path may be completely different. You could be like my husband, and lose 20lbs, but bounce back quickly and be stronger than before.