Posts: 1
5/4/13 7:28 P

Hello,
Before my Cancer, I was living my life as a single woman, working two jobs. One at Kroger and my full time job at a High School, that was my life. I am trying to get back to wear I was before cancer. I should feel bless but I don't. Every time I look at my chest I think of the Cancer. Where do I go from here.

Posts: 391
5/3/13 7:26 P

There is no going back to the way it was before and maybe that's not such a bad thing. While cancer sucks, I'm a much more grateful person than I used to be. Good health isn't always a choice but taking care of ourselves always is.

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3/19/13 7:52 A

Pam...what wonderful thoughts and very much echo how I try to live my life and spend my time. Last summer I was on 4 liters of O2 and now I don't have to use at all. I couldn't walk at all and was in a wheelchair! Nor I am doing a mile a day (track is around my dining room because we don't even have shoulders to walk on! I exercise 4 times daily pedaling for my arms and legs! I am am just so thankful!

and here I found strength and

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3/19/13 12:05 A

I have barely ended the treatments. I went through two types of chemo and finished with radiation therapy. My cancer is stage two breast cancer. I know that I will always be a cancer patient. I will have to see an oncologist for many years to come. After my mastectomy I could do nothing for myself. I even needed help in the bathroom. Now I can walk for more than 5 minutes at a time. I can take a shower by my self. These little everyday things that we take for granted I have come to appreciate. I will never be "normal" again but I will live my life to the fullest. When you start feeling down because you can't do something try and think about the things you can do. Focus on the positive and the rest will fall into place as you go.

Pam

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2/22/13 12:00 P

I agree with Shari! I have small cell lung cancer and it is not curable. I will be in Chemo for the rest of my life. I accept it and I don't let my oncologist talk to me at all about any thing time wise. I use SP and teams because I want some quality to life because I believe that it not the shelf life I may have left that is important, but rather how I live each day of what I have left. A positive attitude and a good diet and fitness plan will go a long way!

Edited by: SLACHETKA103145 at: 2/22/2013 (14:42)

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2/21/13 3:27 P

My cancer is not curable, so I will most likely be on some type of treatment for life. I know diet and exercise won't cure me, but I do the best I can because I think it helps with the quality of life. I want the years I have left to be the best they can be.

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2/20/13 9:50 A

I've been in remission from hodgkin's lymphoma for 9 months.

I noticed you say you don't feel like you have the "right" to be healthy anymore, and while that certainly is a discouraging thought, what about focusing on the other aspects of fitness besides just health? You said you loved to run and workout before -- why not see them as fun, mood-lifting activities, rather than a means to a healthier end?

A big part of chemotherapy and cancer for me was depression and mood swings. I find the more I work out now, whether I'm losing weight or not, the happier and more in control of my mood I feel.

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1/23/13 10:55 P

I am a survivor of level 4 melanoma, 15 years clean. Even though my cancer was different, I believe we all go thru the same emotions, worries and anxieties. I found that a positive attitude and baby steps pushed me thru the depression days. If I could not run, I would walk, even if it was 5 minutes at a time. (My cancer was on the bottom of my foot). I would think good things like sunshine, vacations, loving people in my life, and say the words "you're going to be OK". I pray that you come thru with flying colors, keep your chin up.

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1/20/13 12:44 A

I realized after having cancer that nobody really has a right to be healthy. I wish we did, but it just is not true. We all could die in a car crash tomorrow and many people will. We all have to get used to the idea that we should enjoy each day that we have because none of us know how many we have left. This is probably the most important lesson that I have learned. Currently my daughter has a learner's permit and I'm giving her driving lessons. It's a great thing, but frankly, much more dangerous than many kinds of cancer, LOL. But of course none of us think about it that way.
I do believe with my whole heart that if I eat healthy foods and exercise I will have the best quality of life possible and will not have regrets about it. I also believe that the food that cancer cells need to survive is sugar so I do the best I can to eliminate sugar and anything my body can turn into sugar (mainly carbs) while eating lots of veggies and fruit and healthy fats to strengthen my immune system.
Birgit

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1/15/13 6:22 P

I pray for everyone everyday! Hope everyone is staying strong, amen!

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1/15/13 3:44 P

That's what we are here for!

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1/15/13 2:13 P

Thank you, everyone for your words of encouragement and support. I hope that once my reconstructive surgery is done, and I am able to move and exercise like I used to, I may feel better and have a more positive outlook.

Thank you again!

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1/14/13 7:15 P

Going through my cancer treatments I have leaned to take one day at a time and not worry about the little things. My cancer is controllable but not curable, I want to be as strong and healthy as I can be in case I do have to have more chemo treatments. Also keeping my body strong and healthy helps me feel like I am doing something good for me!

Yes cancer can raise it ugly head again at any time, but you can't let it run your life.

Stay strong.

Julie

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1/13/13 5:19 P

This is certainly a long road we have to walk. I have been in remission for approx. 2 yrs after being treated for lymphoma of the brain. As a result of the cancer I have memory issues, balance issues, and other issues. As a result of the memory issues I have lost my job of 20 yrs, I also understand that the cancer can come back at any time. However I am healthy now, so I strive everyday to eat properly and workout. I went for the 2yrs thinking what if it's back and I don't know it, then one day the light switched on! Not saying that I don't still worry because I do, but I am doing everything in my power to be healthy for now.

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1/10/13 3:13 P

For me, it took time to get use to a "new normal". I know I will never be as healthy or as strong as I was before cancer, because mine is incurable, but I don't let that stop be from trying to be as healthy and fit as possible. I have learned too, to treasure the days when I feel good and appreciate them.

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1/10/13 11:56 A

Look at it this way...you have the information, what are you going to do about it? As you said, there are preventative measures you can take, and at least you are aware.

You CAN be healthy again. Let's get you over this bump in the road first. Remember, you may have cancer, but cancer doesn't get to have you. You have doctors and nurses and friends and family helping you fight this battle. Don't YOU give up! Keep exercising and eating healthy.

I would get chemo on Mondays, then be back to work on Tue. I kept going to the gym, and I hit my goal weight in the middle of my chemo treatment.

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1/10/13 10:59 A

I am so struggling with getting my life back to "normal" after being diagnosed with DCIS breast cancer and testing positive for BRCA2.

The one thing in life I loved to do was run, workout, and eat healthy. I can't do that anymore. I don't know why I have this mental block, but I do.

Every time I try to eat right and vow to do some kind of exercise every day, my thoughts turn to cancer and the fact that I have no control over this dreaded disease coming back because of my gene mutation. Well, there are preventive measures which I am doing, but there is no guarantee. I feel like I don't have the 'right' to be healthy anymore.

How can I be happy and feel like life is "ok" when I have this hanging over me? I just can't seem to break the hold these thoughts have on me!

Any thoughts?