I want to hear success stories from fit cancer survivors!

shavedice87

Hello! I'm just looking for a little inspiration!
When I was still an infant, my body had a tumor. The doctors removed the tumor in surgery along with half my liver, half my pancreas, and a kidney. I also went through a year of chemo.
So with all that trauma to my body at a young age, my metabolism and stamina wasn't much like the average person. Though I was never overweight, the fatigue always got to me faster than most.

I'm not really interested in losing weight. However, I would love to know what it's like to be lean, tone, and fit! I started towards this goal about a month ago, and I can already feel a difference. But I want to be inspired! If you're a cancer survivor and managed to beat the odds by being a strong athlete, please share your stories! I'd love to hear them!

Catlessi41

Hi! I know someone with leukemia that went through chemotherapy and remained active through it. He vomited, dropped weight and all that unfortunate stuff but he remained in good spirits. He would simply go for walks to keep himself active during chemo. Afterwards, he built himself back up. He is a runner, cyclist and powerlifter. He typically will workout and train 3-4 times a day. Being active is just who he is.

You can do it! I will friend request you.

janjb559

Hi! I never answer these posts but read many. Yours moved me! First I am happy that you are a Survivor! Congratulations! My story isn't as profound as yours but was life changing to me..I was your typical married working mom of 3 young kids who felt pressure to do it all, Activities, keep a happy home and work full time and volunteer many hours a week "all for my family" I thought....crazy busy as so many; then in 2011 we were told that dreaded news....I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Triple Negative Breast Cancer with Lymph node involvement. Wasn't looking good and after surgeries was even more grim..but after much care and treatment I am here! The fact is I took that event to spin my life. I used that time to see that I was spinning out of control and so busy I was loosing my health...The blessing in the disease was that it gave me permission to STOP and re evaluate my life. During treatments I was told about exercise programs for cancer patients...instead of feeling sorry for myself I pushed myself to go...many days it was just exercising in a chair but I pushed through it....I became motivated to move my body and started to feel stronger! mentally and physically. I was able to start doing the old things I loved to do downhill skiing, and hiking....I started to see the value of my health and have never looked back. I continued to make small everyday changes in my health. My new found love is a Personal Training small group I have joined with 3 other women and am looking forward to getting back at it after this pandemic. I still tire easy 9 years later but have learned to embrace how I feel and trust my instincts in knowing what I need. I will be honest and tell you I was always overweight but before that cancer journey I started at 248 lbs. I am now 169 Still am considered overweight maybe by 15 lbs but I dont care..I am healthy and strong! I take pride in knowing that this 58 year old body is the strongest and bestest it can be! lol....I dont have any trouble keeping up to my 4 grandsons and doing the physical things I love to do! Stay Strong!

Lietchi

I think @AnnPT77 can (and should) be a great inspiration!

AnnPT77

Lietchi wrote: »

I think @AnnPT77 can (and should) be a great inspiration!

Aww, you're sweet . . . but I hope no one is really toooo reliant on a hedonistic aging-hippie ol' internet auntie for inspiration!

OP, your treatment really put you through the wringer, and at a formative age. Massive admiration to you for finding the will, in adulthood, to get fitter!

I had nothing so hard as that.

Back in 2000, at age 44, recently widowed (also cancer), I was diagnosed with Stage III locally advanced breast cancer, 5 tumors in one breast (largest 3.1cm), 1 tumor in the other breast. I had bilateral mastectomies (no reconstruction), 9 lymph nodes removed in one underarm (one positive for cancer cells), 6 months of chemo (3 month each of 2 different "cocktails", on 3 week intervals), and around 6 weeks of 5-field radiation. At the start, they said I had 60% or so chance of surviving 5 years, so on the positive side of the odds. Shortly after treatment, I was also diagnosed as severely hypothyroid.

Now, assuming it's at a survivable stage, I have to say that breast cancer is in some ways an "easier" cancer than many: The surgery and radiation rarely affect vital organs that are required for basic functional life (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, etc.). Like any chemotherapy, breast cancer chemo is a truly rotten hobby, and can have permanent side-effects, of course (but it beats the heck out of not surviving, so it's worth it!).

After my cancer treatment, especially with the thyroid condition in the mix, I realized that if I was ever going to feel strong, energetic, and even fully happy again, I was going to have to work at it. So, I started by taking some gentle exercise classes (such as yoga), and gradually increased to other kinds of group classes, including weight lifting. It helped. I started feeling better.

A couple of years after treatment, a local coach was forming a breast cancer survivors rowing team in our area - those skinny boats like in the Olympics. I'd canoed a good bit on past vacations, and recreationally in between, so that sounded pretty good to me (despite my still being pretty out-of-shape, not to mention obese). On the trip up the 4 flights of stairs to one of the first meetings (gasp, pant), I really wondered if I knew what the heck I was doing!

However, with some training and instruction, I truly fell in love with rowing. That was in 2002-2003. Over the next couple of years, I added more activities (particularly in the off-season, as our water freezes here), bought a rowing machine, took some other more vigorous group classes, did some off-season workouts (aerobics videos, mostly) at home. I even competed in some indoor races (rowing machines) and on-water races, not always unsuccessfully.

I remember being at my first-ever race, and some long-time friends came to watch. One of them came up to me after the race and said (in a friendly, joking way), "Ann T a jock: Who would've thought!" I had to agree.

Now, age 64, I'm not competing anymore, but I'm still an enthusiastic rower. My normal routine (when not doing this "stay at home" order stuff) is to row 4 days a week in season, take 2 spin classes a week all year, use my rowing machine in Winter (not as much volume as on-water season), do some strength training, enjoy some outdoor bike rides, and generally try to stay strong and healthy by doing fun things.

That sort of leaves out the story of body weight: I managed to stay obese for over a decade, while very active and even competing athletically - weight in the 180s, at 5'5", which is just into the obese BMI zone. In 2015, I stopped being able to fool myself that being really active was enough, and had to acknowledge that other health problems needed to be addressed.

I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol/triglycerides. My doctor said I needed to take statins, and I didn't want to: They can have negative side effects for cognitive ability, and I figured I'd already given up enough on that front to chemotherapy. So, I committed myself to lose weight. To seal the deal, I started having bad heartburn and reflux for the first time in my life. They discovered that I had gallbladder adenomyomatosis, which is not the usual stones/sludge, but an inflammatory-related thing that can be associated with gallbladder cancer risk. When they took it out, the pathology report was sobering: It was a cholesterolized, thickened, damaged hunk of tissue, with holes through it. Yikes!

So, over the course of 2015, at age 59-60, I lost about 50 pounds, nearly a third of my bodyweight, by calorie counting. I'd always eaten nutritious things (I've been vegetarian for 45+ years, eat lots of veggies and fruits, prefer whole grains, not a fast-food or soda pop person, etc.). But I was eating too much, and too many calorie-dense treats. So, portion control and proper proportions of different foods were what calorie counting taught me. So useful!

Now, I've been at a healthy weight since late 2015, in these last few months recently, losing a few vanity pounds to be sitting right around 130 pounds at 5'5", BMI 21-point -something. Blood tests have all good along the way since 2015, blood pressure normal, all systems go. With the stay-at-home and other restrictions, I haven't been able to restart on-water rowing yet this year, but am taking walks, using the rowing machine, doing some lifting, etc.

Life is good.

Wishing you continuing success in your pursuit of improved fitness, @shavedice87 - you can do this, and you will be so glad you did!

Sand_TIger

I love that you're actively looking for inspiration! My friend and former coworker is a cancer survivor - stage IV prostate cancer to be specific - and he wrote a book about his journey so I am comfortable mentioning the type.

He wasn't really overweight but he carried a few extra pounds and had gotten sedentary. When he was diagnosed he decided he was going to fight his disease with everything he had. So he put himself on a program of vigorous exercise and clean eating, while working closely with his doctors. He also maintained a great attitude. He's quite a fighter and he's gone on to inspire others. He's in his mid sixties, going strong, and planning another book.

He says that the three pillars of his success were hard vigorous exercise, a clean diet with lots of fresh veggies, lean meats and good nutrition, and a never-give-up attitude. I personally would say that the attitude is the most important part because it drives everything else. He's a huge inspiration to me and one of the reasons why I decided to get healthy myself.

The takeaway that my friend constantly mentions is that if vigorous exercise and good diet were in a pill, everyone would buy it. There is study after study that shows this combination does all kinds of good things for you including fighting cancer. Now my friend's doctors actually refer people to him for inspiration because he took a death sentence and kicked its butt! I feel so privileged to know him and I hope his example gives you a little inspiration. Feel free to contact me if you have questions.

rubyarcox

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