Stage IV MBC Fitness
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Crystal, sorry you are here. I was diagnosed stage IV in January. I started on Ibrance and Letrozole. I am 70 and work out 5 days a week. Mostly weights and light cardio. I feel better because I do it. My Dr encourages it. He says studies are showing there is a lot of benifit exercising during treatments and he encourages doing what you can.
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Still recovering from my broken rib but finally got out and took a three mile walk. It felt great and it was a beautiful day. Hope to be adding yoga and swimming this week
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I like when pain full things turn out to be a blessing in disquise. Back in November I got a sudden muscle spasm on my right side. Bit slowly got better but not right. Then just when I was ready to ask for a recomendation to someone fo my back I was diagnosed with a cancer recurrence. My back has been better but it would still ach if I tried to go to heavy so again I was thinking about seeing a specialist. Chiropractor was no help. Before I could call anyone, I was doing a leg work out and tired to move up a weight in that exercise. Something gave in my back and I wanted to cry. I was so frustrated just to many things keep going wrong. Had a bit of a petty party. That was a week and 1 1/2 ago. Two days later I was was beginning to feel better. I noticed all last week mobility was increasing. Today I found myself working out at the level before the back spasam in November. I still moving back carefully with my workouts but I am so excited to be moving forward with no pain.
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This topic has been quite. I finally decided to get a gel shot in my injured knee. I have much more mobility now and a lot less pain. I still was going to the gym 4 days a week, but walking has been painful. Hoping for improvement in that area.
What's everyone doing to keep moving?
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I will be getting some movement taking the bus to the grocery store. I don't walk far now, bus is far enough to walk and still get a nice walk.
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Really quiet here, over a year but life does certainly get busy.
I have dealt with 3 falls this year, in house. I am blaming them on flu and fever I was told I had. That was end of January into early feb then dealt with some digestive issues which were very unpleasant for about a week, took meds and that went away. I was really deconditioned from the flu and lack of activity so started exercises and PT from the bed, I have been known to march in bed, strengthen arms pulling myself up with a bed ladder as well, pull from laying down to sit up straight to get out of bed safely. feel like these help and handy dandy cane works well to help me feel secure. I also take paratransit, a service that picks me up and drops me off at home, go to appointments an hour early so I can take a walk around the halls of the hospital so that is helpful too.
Hope everyone is doing well and if not, in your pocket lending support if needed.
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Hey, mara! Thanks for waking up this thread! 😀
Carol
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Hi thanks for posting and getting a reminder out there. Just wondering what everyone is up to. I had knee replacement surgery in January. It was a rough first month but things are now going well. Everyday pain is gone. I am looking forward to an active spring and summer. It has been a long 2 years of knee pain and return of my breast cancer.
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Sunshine, I just thought that if I posted and we got started again, we could say what we are doing to stay healthy no matter what our situation may be. I am able to walk the half hour outside with my cane without an issue, I am more balanced and able to prevent falls with the Occupational Therapy exercises and Physical Therapy excercises too. I also enjoy marching and doing leg exercises first thing in the morning too.
Bruters mom, I am glad the everyday pain post knee surgery is gone as well and things are going better, I like to hear it.
I will post my exercise here to hold myself accountable to keep up with it. Still working to gain strength from flu and falls but it is coming along which is good. I will be cheering everyone on as well no matter what they do.
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@mara51506 I am glad you did.ibhave been trying to walk more since the knee surgery to help strengthen my legs. Every other day I take the old dog for a walk. He is 14 and has a lot of medical problems. His owner is in a nursing home. The vet originally told me he didn't think he would live long so we kept him. That was in August. Right now he is doing well. I am trying to get him stronger and able to take walks. Today was windy. I did not realize how windy. My cul-de-sac is exactly ½ mile long so from start to start point is exactly one mile. I live at the ¼ mile on top of the hil. Either way I go is down hill. I can't remember the last time I struggled so hard to walk down hill. I am glad I didn't walk into the wind going uphill. We made the ½ mile and that was it. I ussualy do the other ½ mile without the dog. I feel like I hiked a mountain tonight and only took half of my normal walk.
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I try to do at least 20 minutes a day of aerobic exercise. I have no doubt that it is not pretty to watch, but it wakes up the feel-good part of my brain. I follow a youtube channel that I find to be very good. On those days that I don't do the aerobics I generally walk.
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Nice day here so after laundry is in dryer and breakfast eaten, will go out for a half hour walk today. May follow up with some PT exercises from bed. I do get pull strength in my arms by pulling myself up to sitting with a bed ladder. It is one of my daily exercises, up to six pulling myself up which is good, need to start wall pushups as the push strength is lacking. Beyond that, I am not sure what I want to do.
Hope all have a good day today.
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@mara51506 have your ever tried chair exercises to build up your strength. Google them on YouTube. Some of them look like they wod give a full body work out. Core is important for balance.
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@brutersmom Yes, there is a 10 minute workout I do engaging my whole body, paul eugene. In the morning, I do bridge pose in bed, 10 every day, and I also hold onto my bedladder and pull my body up on my own when done the arm pull from laying to sitting as well. My balance has improved a lot, still like having a cane as well, feel more secure with it. I also lift up on elbows and pull legs toward me, knees bent for 10 reps, really works lower abs so that is helpful, Also do high leg lift with abs held in whilst holding on to counter. It all ads up. All of these are great with balance as well. I do different workouts in my chair as well, 10 mins at a time, pull in ab muscles as I walk as well. Love the variety of ways to work out. Last time I fell when not lightheaded from the flu was winter 2023 slipping on ice.
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My local cancer community center offers free gentle yoga classes, which also include a brief meditation. I am still strong enough to do reformer Pilates twice a week and walk the dog, but I do recommend gentle yoga not only for the stretching but for the peace of mind.
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I'll try and get this thread active again since the recent ASCO results show that exercise is very beneficial for cancer patients, including Stage IV. I was finally able to get back to pickleball yesterday after a month's absence due to a hip issue. It felt so good to play! Today I am planning to go to the gym to lift weights and will also do yoga. Tomorrow I finally get my PT assessment on my hip. Happy exercising everyone!
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Chicagoan - Thanks so much for re-activating this thread. I think that sometimes the benefits of exercising for stage 4 get lost and forgotten, but the evidence that's out there strongly suggests it's beneficial, even if it's not a cure.
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@chicagoan Pickleball sounds awesome. I have a continuing hip problem too, but my daughter has urged me to do daily stretching and that has helped somewhat. I do reformer pilates three times a week. It's similar to yoga and I find that it not only helps my joints, but my overall well-being enormously. I walk my dog a few miles a day, and I'm happy to have him. I got back on my bike on Sunday, and plan to make that a more regular activity.
@threetree I have to believe that exercise is good for all kinds of holistic reasons, giving the body more energy, improving circulation, and improving mood for living life.
I'd also like to remember Zarovka. She started this thread and was an uplifting presence here.
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I just went to the gym. Didn't feel like going at all but now I feel so much better!
@tougholdcrow I'd like to try reformer pilates. I do plan to get back on my bike soon. I also want to ride regularly this summer.
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Thanks for starting this thread up again. I continue to go to the gym 4xs a week. Chicagoan yes I keep reading more and more benifits of exercise and cancer. Movement is very important. Even chair yoga offers benifit for those with difficulty moving.
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@brutersmom Good for you! I agree any type of exercise is better than none. When my hip was really paining me the past month, I did some chair yoga and felt much better. What is your weekly routine at the gym?
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Evening all, you gals are an inspiration! I had been working out 5 days a week via YouTube videos (Aim fitness and SeniorShape) for the last two years. And walking … love walking. But since my last radiation treatments on my underarm and shoulder, it’s been a slow recovery with just being able to add some simple range of motion as my skin slowly heals. Just gently getting back to thinking about moving more again and walking more . Pickleball lol…that’s awesome. After reading through this thread ..I’m motivated to move more!
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@rlschaller You've been going through a lot lately. I wonder if the gentle motion of tai chi might be good. You might like it with your interest in meditation, since this is "meditation in motion."
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I got a good walk in yesterday, but with these shingles I've been dealing with, the walks seem to actually set me back. I'm finding that I'll have a good day, feel better, so go for a good long walk; then the next day I feel worse again and am too tired and fatigued to go out and walk. I'm finding that there's a lot that comes with shingles that you just don't really hear about. We hear about the painful rash and blisters, but not the overall flu type stuff and dramatic fatigue.
I'm glad to see others here "going for it" at whatever level they can, and again Chicagoan, I'm glad you reactivated this thread. It seems to be inspiring a lot of good things!
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@threetree Glad you got in a walk but sorry it seemed to set you back. It's trial and error-discovering how much walking or exercising to do-the level where it is helpful rather than fatiguing. So sorry you are dealing with shingles. I didn't know there were symptoms other than the rash and blisters.
I am planning on Pickleball today. I don't play for as long as I used to but I played on Monday for slightly over an hour. My shoulder was sore on Tuesday but my hip seemed to be ok. I have my first PT session today. Now I feel almost embarrassed to go. Three weeks ago I was struggling to walk, but now I'm back to pickleball. I'm still taking an anti-inflammatory. I hope my hip is still okay once I stop it.
What are others planning to do today to "Keep Moving"?
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@threetree Shingles are awful, as I know from folks around me who've had them. i hope they go away soon. Are you taking an antiviral? It's hard to keep going when you feel fluish and down.
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Chicagoan - It is indeed trial and error oftentimes when deciding how long to do an exercise, depending on so many factors. The walk I took yesterday was my usual no problem walk and it felt, but with the shingles going on, it didn't work out. I did the same thing on Sunday. Had a great long wonderful walk and then Monday I was a wiped out mess. Yes, I was told that with shingles being a virus, you will get symptoms of a viral infection and feel like you have one too, e.g. a viral flu. They just never really talk about that part of shingles. My rash is fading and I never got the blisters, and the pain I did have with the rash is pretty much gone - just left with all this flu like stuff, but I guess it will likely only go on another week or 2. It comes and goes, and think is starting to do more "going" thank goodness. Re Pickleball, I don't really know anything about it, but I'm glad to see that so many enjoy it. I only remember that many, many years ago, our local news featured an article about a couple of local politicians who were playing Pickleball and introducing it to others around here. They were given the credit for "inventing" the game, modeled on some other games. It does seem like it did really took off at about that time. I see it advertised as being offered at places like senior centers, but I never go out for group athletic things, so it's interesting to see so much more talk about it again. Good luck with your PT. I think you should go anyway and not feel embarrassed about having improved. There's nothing wrong with that!
Tougholdcrow - Thanks for the nice thoughts re the shingles. Yes, I took the antiviral for a week and I think it helped a lot in that the rash did not spread or turn to blisters. It started to fade and the pain disappeared, but I am left with this flu like stuff. I think it could have been a lot worse without the antiviral - I got started on it right away; within 24 hours of rash beginning. I'm wondering if the cancer drgugs, i.e. the Verzenio and Faslodex aren't making it worse in some way. I've been told that I am "mildly immunocompromised" because of the drugs, so it might add to the symptoms and length of time? A walk-in clinic doctor told me that with the Verzenio I should expect to catch more things like viruses and also that they would be harder to shake and linger more than usual. I'm not quite sure the onc feels exactly the same way, as he tends to downplay the immunocompromised stuff, but the urgent care doctors (more than 1) seem to play it up a bit and warn me about it when I see them.
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Thank you for the Tai Chi recommendation @tougholdcrow, that would be lovely. I haven’t done that in years. I also love chi gong, perhaps I’ll start that on a more regular basis as well . Getting back into a routine is what I need, and know it will be good for me.
@chicagoan amazing how much you have improved in 3 weeks! I’m so happy for you.@threetree your body is going through so much right now. I hope you can be kind to yourself, mentally as well as physically.
@brutersmom I love chair yoga. Going to a gym not too much, but I like YouTube workouts. The cats keep me company, the birds sing outside my window, and the sun is not making the room too hot if I work out in the morning before work.
I woke up feeling motivated today , and did a modified 15 minute HIIT for seniors, to get cardio and generally moving the body, and then went for a walk along the waterfront before starting the work day. Home in time for breakfast and my first meeting at ten am. Definitely felt better afterwards. Lovely start to the day.
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@rlschaller Good for you-all that before work!
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@rlschaller I think if I had a water front I would be more motivated to wall. I do gp to the gym 4 ×'s a week.
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