hiitdogs
Cathlete
I wanted to thank you guys for all the PMs and emails with questions about how I am doing and all the well-wishes. I am really touched by your kindness, I didn't know I was supposed to post an update.
I am doing really well, my surgery was 8 weeks ago. 8 days after surgery I started daily walking with 2 of my dogs and some yoga. I steadily increased my workouts and last week I was running 10.1 miles with all 5 of my dogs (well, almost all running, I took a couple of walking breaks ). Some doctors had said that I shouldn't be lifting weights anymore, not so my surgeon. He told me to knock myself out if that's what I wanted to do, so 5 weeks after surgery PUB it was I was never happier to feel DOMS the next day.
So these days I am back to "normal", I workout 5 to 6 times a week, I have full range of motion back in both arms and I feel great. I have lost 75 lbs since July, my doctor and I agree that I still need to lose another 60 to 70 lbs which will bring me down to 130 lbs which was my weight before my yo-yo dieting career started. So for those of you who are counting, yes, I had gained over 140 lbs, how much over that I don't know because I stopped stepping on my scale at after I reached 272 lbs.
The staging of my breast cancer turned out much better than expected, I was stage IIb whereas originally it was thought to be III or even IV. The recommendation for post-surgery treatment was chemotherapy and radiation which I have chosen to forego and instead opted to start treatment with a naturopathic oncologist.
Originally, I was onboard with chemotherapy, however, after meeting with a "conventional" oncologist, weeks of research, reading through half our local library and online, looking at statistics, risks and benefits, with the support of my husband and kids, I decided to chose an all naturopathic treatment plan.
The naturopathic doctor ordered a gazillion tests for me, I am surprised I still have blood left , I am waiting for the results on those. In the meantime I am on so many supplements and pills that I had to type up a schedule when I have to take what so I don't get confused. I am kind of feeling like the crazy ole lady with the pill boxes and they started IVs of high doses of vitamin C. My diet is as clean as it gets and yup, exercise is part of the treatment plan - my doctor is a slave driver
I had been on several supplements before I met with the N.D. and he had warned me that if I wanted to go all naturopathic that it would require a lot of discipline and commitment, and he sure wasn't kidding Of course, there are no guarantees as there are no guarantees with conventional treatment.
I had many reasons to chose to forego conventional treatments, one of them was that in a naturopathic approach it is looked at what was the underlying cause of that cancer, something that in all of my conversations with conventional doctors always was dismissed. Let's assume chemo actually does work as they say it does, what good will it do, if you don't address what caused the disease in the first place.
As dreadful as the diagnosis was for me, I know that it has changed my life for the better. I am grateful for my husband and my kids who have stood by side through everything, my friends online and in real life who have rallied behind me without ifs, buts or why and last but not least my dogs who with their loyalty and unconditional love pushed me to take a few steps further every day.
Health care has always been one of the causes that has been near and dear to my heart for a long time, with that in mind we are in the beginning stages of forming a patient advocacy group. Looks like this is what is going to be my mission in life (well, aside from making it through DrillMax without collapsing ).
So this is what's going on in my life. Things are great and I haven't felt this good and energetic in 7 or 8 years. Thanks again for all your support and concern! It means more to me than you will ever know.
I am doing really well, my surgery was 8 weeks ago. 8 days after surgery I started daily walking with 2 of my dogs and some yoga. I steadily increased my workouts and last week I was running 10.1 miles with all 5 of my dogs (well, almost all running, I took a couple of walking breaks ). Some doctors had said that I shouldn't be lifting weights anymore, not so my surgeon. He told me to knock myself out if that's what I wanted to do, so 5 weeks after surgery PUB it was I was never happier to feel DOMS the next day.
So these days I am back to "normal", I workout 5 to 6 times a week, I have full range of motion back in both arms and I feel great. I have lost 75 lbs since July, my doctor and I agree that I still need to lose another 60 to 70 lbs which will bring me down to 130 lbs which was my weight before my yo-yo dieting career started. So for those of you who are counting, yes, I had gained over 140 lbs, how much over that I don't know because I stopped stepping on my scale at after I reached 272 lbs.
The staging of my breast cancer turned out much better than expected, I was stage IIb whereas originally it was thought to be III or even IV. The recommendation for post-surgery treatment was chemotherapy and radiation which I have chosen to forego and instead opted to start treatment with a naturopathic oncologist.
Originally, I was onboard with chemotherapy, however, after meeting with a "conventional" oncologist, weeks of research, reading through half our local library and online, looking at statistics, risks and benefits, with the support of my husband and kids, I decided to chose an all naturopathic treatment plan.
The naturopathic doctor ordered a gazillion tests for me, I am surprised I still have blood left , I am waiting for the results on those. In the meantime I am on so many supplements and pills that I had to type up a schedule when I have to take what so I don't get confused. I am kind of feeling like the crazy ole lady with the pill boxes and they started IVs of high doses of vitamin C. My diet is as clean as it gets and yup, exercise is part of the treatment plan - my doctor is a slave driver
I had been on several supplements before I met with the N.D. and he had warned me that if I wanted to go all naturopathic that it would require a lot of discipline and commitment, and he sure wasn't kidding Of course, there are no guarantees as there are no guarantees with conventional treatment.
I had many reasons to chose to forego conventional treatments, one of them was that in a naturopathic approach it is looked at what was the underlying cause of that cancer, something that in all of my conversations with conventional doctors always was dismissed. Let's assume chemo actually does work as they say it does, what good will it do, if you don't address what caused the disease in the first place.
As dreadful as the diagnosis was for me, I know that it has changed my life for the better. I am grateful for my husband and my kids who have stood by side through everything, my friends online and in real life who have rallied behind me without ifs, buts or why and last but not least my dogs who with their loyalty and unconditional love pushed me to take a few steps further every day.
Health care has always been one of the causes that has been near and dear to my heart for a long time, with that in mind we are in the beginning stages of forming a patient advocacy group. Looks like this is what is going to be my mission in life (well, aside from making it through DrillMax without collapsing ).
So this is what's going on in my life. Things are great and I haven't felt this good and energetic in 7 or 8 years. Thanks again for all your support and concern! It means more to me than you will ever know.
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