exercise? When to start…
exercise? When to start… I thought now xmas is over and weight is creeping up on me,I would trest myself to an exercise cd.I did half of it and was out of puff!! Then this morning I woke up with sore ribs and stiff armpit & arm.Also when I turn my head it feels like a nerve is trapped in my neck shooting down my shoulder blade.All this is on the side of my mastectomy(10 yrs ago)and my reacurrance treated with rads last august.How much exercise should we do and which is the best type apart from walking.The cd was easy to follow but involved punching and alot of arm swinging.Has anyone any suggestions ,I feel so bad now because Ive put on 2 stone & have always been slim before.Yes Im taking tamoxifen.Thanks for letting me let off steam.everyone take care,Debs
Hi, I’ve used a gym and done a lot of other physical activity for years. My partner and I are keen hill walkers. We also both ride motorbikes and go to rallies. I had a mastectomy and 14 lymph glands removed last August. I was back at the gym 6 weeks later ( only because I had to wait for a GP’s letter before gym management would let me go back) and I went to a bike rally in Scotland on my own bike 4 weeks after surgery. I have continued going to the gym during chemo, averaging 2-3 times per week. i started swimming again yesterday, and did 20 lengths. I do weights and cardio at the gym.I had to revise my weights programme and did this in consultation wtih staff at the gym who were very helpful. I’m a keen swimmer anyway however my BC nurse advised me that it is very good exercise following a mastectomy as it really helps with shoulder mobility whilst being a very supported exercise. I’m taking tamoxifen and start my rads on 7th February. I’ll be 48 this year.
i was determined not to let this disease take more away from me than it already has so wanted to get back to my normal routine as quickly as I could. My BC nurse and consultant fully supported this. My nurse’s view is that you have to be able to live your life. i can still manouvre a bike, and can still train okay. Don’t know about carrying a rucksack as I have n’t tried yet but can’t see why there should be any problems. And the surgery certainly has n’t caused any difficulties with swimming. I think as long as you are happy with the exercise you are having, there’s no reason why you should n’t go for it. I avoid anything that may be high impact to my shoulder and do that by talking to staff at the gym about my routine. Other than that, I get on with my life pretty much as before.
Regards
Geraldine
I was in hospital last year with a lady who had a mastectomy, node clearance and reconstruction done at the same time and we keep in contact via email and generally bump into each other at hospital appointments. She has had a lot of problems with her arm, nerve pain, swelling etc and now has flebitis (sp?). She was used to going to the gym before all this and our consultant has recommended it would be good for her to start again as she needs to get her arm exercised more.
I have been lucky in that my node clearance pain started to get better just before Christmas (about 7 weeks after op) and I have now had feeling returning under my armpit for about 2 weeks now. I had a feeling of terrible strain in my shoulder blade but that is also easing up. I don’t really go to a gym, but I have bought a side to side stepper and a few other bits for home, hand weights etc. I’ve had a few problems this past couple of weeks due to fatigue, but I plan to get into a good routine now as I have 5 weeks rads coming up and it’s a 40 mile round trip every day. I’d also like to lose about 21 lbs, slowly but healthily.
For Cherub Thanks for your reply,Ill keep you in my thoughts with you rdas treatment happening soon…I had mine at The New Beatson which is at the Gartnavel hospital.Would like to keep in touch as you are up in Scotland.Keep on fighting,really feel for you having to travel 40 miles.I met a few ladies doing long journeys also a couple that were put into the next door Hotel.Take care Debs
Geraldine… I’d like to know where you get your energy from, it leaves me gasping! I had surgery, chemo and radio 2 years ago and have still not recovered the energy I had before that. I used to go to the gym 3 times a week. can’t even contemplate it now and so have put on abt 3 stone. Wish you could bottle and sell your secret!
Hi Debbz1,
Yep, I’m across in Fife which means my rads will be getting done at the Western in Edinburgh. I’m going for the planning session next Friday, then will probably start on Feb 12th. Still, it’ll be a change of scene as I’m getting bored with QMH at Dunfermline now!
I know it sounds a bit perverse, but I’m actually looking forward to the next bit as I’m a very pragmatic person who deals with things well and I just see it as another challenge to get over. The people treating me are very pleased with the way things are currently going as I have managed to stay focused the whole way through, even after the initial shock I got last October. In my case it was a day surgery to remove a benign fibroid and the consultant had to tell me he found a stage 3 cancer underneath it when I went back to get the dresssings taken off.
I’m the sort of lady who never gets off lightly and never does things by halves, such is life as they say!