Journal entry by Linda Schaack —
Since Oct 3rd - I have had chemo every 3 weeks - and if my Oncologist had scheduled 7 chemo treatments instead of 6 - today would have been a chemo day. But it wasn’t and I am so thankful that chemo is behind me.
Overall I am feeling pretty good although being tired is still part of my day. I am being very patient and don’t really have any expectations of my days or workouts or what I get done, figuring anything that I can do is better than nothing. I also realize that my fitness didn’t get to this point overnight and it will likely take many many months to get back to a level that I am comfortable with. I went back and tallied up my runs, pilates classes, hot yoga classes and walks that I did since my mastectomy on September 12.
Over the 4 1/2 months I
- ran 11 times for 26.2 miles.
- attended 5 hot yoga classes
- attended 18 pilates classes
- walked 84 times for a total of 210 miles
I am quite happy with the fact that I was able to stay active during my treatments. Honestly having the treatments scheduled every 3 weeks made that possible. But staying active is a far cry from being in shape. I ran two times this past week and it was painful. My cardio is woefully no where near what it was prior to treatments and I don’t expect it to be - but dang! When I look at the time on my runs - pretty much every run just got slower and slower. Oh well - I have only one way to go! Faster!!! I have also lost a lot of strength, especially in my upper body. With time and patience and hard work - I will get some, if not all of my previous fitness back.
I had my oncology appointment last week and my port will be removed on Feb 18th. I had hoped to get it done before I left for my pilates retreat, but at least it will be out before I head to Steamboat for skiing. I also started my Aromatase Inhibitor drug called Aromasin which blocks the production of estrogen. So far so good - but it’s too early to tell whether I will get any of the side effects which include aching or pain in the joints, fatigue, bone thinning or menopausal symptoms (which really is not fair, that you could get menopausal symptoms again!!!.) Biggest issue right now is remembering to take the pill each day. I just poured out all the pills and counted them, because I couldn’t remember if I had taken one this morning - it appears like I did, or the pharmacy gave me an extra pill!
I am posting this from the Dallas/Ft Worth airport - on my way to Cabo for my pilates retreat at Prana Del Mar a resort located on the coast about 45 miles north of Cabo. I am going a day early and staying in San Jose del Cabo for the evening. The first time I flew into Cabo on a Saturday and the line for customs was ridiculously long and slow - maybe too many flights landed at the same time or it was just a really unlucky day to fly into Cabo, in either case I now fly in a day early and simply stay overnight in San Jose and then on Saturday the resort transportation stops and picks me up at the hotel. This will be my 5th year attending this retreat. I am setting no expectations for attending all of the classes. I am not sure I am up to attending all 4 classes per day for 6 days. Here is the typical schedule - The day starts with 50 minutes of stretching on the beach - we then walk back to the resort, stopping in at the dining room for smoothies, coffee, nuts and dates before heading up to the sun studio for 1 hour of Pilates. Then we have 2nd breakfast. The afternoon session usually start at 4 and are reversed, with the hour of Pilates first, and then we head down to the beach for stretch, finishing up before the sun sets. (The photos are from past retreats - it really is an amazing setting)
I will definitely enjoy the sun and sand and warmth.
Enjoy the moments!
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