Inspired by both Debs comment and my F in laws regret that he’d not made the most of his time since his cancer diagnosis I have just spent the last week end of my holiday in the Lakes doing two things I promised myself I’d do when treatment finished.
So 15 months since end of treatment (still on tamoxifen) have used the mountain bike purchased after first treatment to do a 16 mile round trip to Haweswater and climbed up Red Screes. The walk up Red Screes was a particular concern as I wasn’t certain I’d ever manage to find footwear to cope with the peripheral neuropathy that would allow that type of scrambling but I have.
I’ve planted a stone in the cairn for all of you accessing the site with both a primary and secondary diagnosis. May you too realise your dreams.
What an uplifting post!Bless you for thinking of others too.
May you manage many many more dreams.We all need goals ,big and small,I am so glad you have made yours,you must feel elated.
Whats next then?
What next?
The mundane:- clear out under the stairs, tidy the garage.
The pleasant :- plant some new plants in the garden, redecorate a room.
The more energetic;- St Bega’s way (a 36 mile walk over 3 days from St Bee’s Head to St Bega’s church on the banks of Bassenthwaite).
Mine at the moment are smaller steps but please let me share.
After 2 days sleeping I had a bath and manged to clean the hairs that have decided to drop from my head 5 weeks after last taxol.
Small steps I know will lad to big strides.
You are a star crispy.
Love Debsxxx
Small steps or big steps ,they are equally important,we all need milestones.I feel as if they have been pulled away from me as I have been rediagnosed at my first anniversary so I will be beginning again.
My first goal after tomorrows WLE ?snb will be to attend a wedding all day on saturday,everyone thinks I am nuts but its not going to stop me!
Crispy …skip the mundane ,just go straight to the pleasurable!
Well done crispy for acheiving that goal and what a lovely thing to do for us all.
Small steps for one person are often enormous steps for a another depending on where we are starting from, but a step is still a step.
A few weeks after treatment (mastectomy and rads)I managed a 3 mile walk on my own and that was a tremendous boast to my self confidence.
This year I completed walking the Thames Path, which had been put on hold due to bc.
Today, 17 months on, I arrived back from Cornwall having started walking the SW coast with my OH, 63 miles done, the remaining 567 we are planning to do over the next five years or so.
And in Cornwall I met a lovely lady called debs with such a zest and love for life that its contagious.
And next - Hadrians Wall at the end of August - 84 miles over 6 days on my own, another first.
Life is so precious and can be so short, so lets make the most of it in ways which are special to us.
love to all
Magsi x
Hope you see this before surgery. Three days after WLE not knowing what was in store for me OH encouraged me to start walking up the hills at the end of Haweswater. I made it to the pass at the top and then continued along the ridge so go for it on Saturday (you’re not mad). It was a while before I went back up the hills again and for a long time the small step was a short walk along the shore.
Small steps can be such achievements and need to be savoured.
I just wanted to say thanks for the stone as well, I find that incredibly moving and just reaffirms my belief that the solidarity of everyone going through BC is the most precious thing, it is a club no-one wants to join but the strength I have drawn from this website is beyond words.
My small thing? tidying my 4 year old daughter’s room, oh boy it took most of the day!
I was able to take off our bedding and bring them downstairs to be washed! Plus I did a bit of weeding and cleaned a couple of our plant pots. Small steps for which I am very grateful as I thought I was running down the invalid route and picking up speed I was alittle uncomfortable with.
Love Debsxxx
Good to hear of the progress. Would you like to do some of my weeding? No? I’ll take some pleasure in planting the two new lavender plants and think of all of you while I do it.
I too went to the Lakes for a week. I only managed one major walk - The Old man of conison. The family all have different ideas of what to do on holiday! I remember looking at a calender I had when i was dx and thinking that I would walk that hill after treatment. in the end it was a different climb but still worth it.
I now would love to do some more walking. But will run 10km for Cancer Research in October and I currently ache from the training!
with love and looking forward to plenty more steps and goals
Like you I managed The Old Man of Coniston in May 2008, I didn’t have chemo so was only recovering from surgery and rads. It was such a milestone at the time, I wanted shout from the top.
Well done on training for the 10k. My OH took up running a year ago and has done a sposored 10k splitting the money between BCC and the ED Society. So although I don’t run I am very aware of the training and effort that goes into it.
Keep going I sooooo envy you.
I may get up for dinner Ian has cooked a beef stew. Eldest daughter is here visiting so it is only polite to make the effort shower and dress for dinner.
Love Debsxxx
I was diagnosed in Dec 2003 and in May 2009 I did a 40 mile bike ride up some tremendous hills in Essex, yes it is hilly despite no-one from outside Essex ever going there.
I was really pleased with myself although the bum ache was tremendous as well as the hills
I’m not sure I would have contemplated doing a 40 mile bike ride pre-diagnosis, or after diagnosis for that matter. I thought I was off on a 10 miler but just goes to show what we can do even if we don’t believe in ourselves