FREE Exercise Program for New York Cancer Patients and Survivors

 

In 2009 the American College of Sports Medicine formed a panel of researchers to develop exercise guidelines for cancer patients and survivors.

At the time, doctors were telling their cancer patients to avoid exercise but the panel found that physical activity "is safe during and after cancer treatments and results in improvements in physical functioning, quality of life, and cancer-related fatigue in several cancer survivor groups."

Strength for Life, based in New York, is working to spread this news and make fitness programs accessible to cancer patients and survivors "regardless of location and financial limitations."

Clean Boob of Health

If you hadn't guessed by my month-long departure from this blog, we finally went on that long-awaited, much-deserved vacation I had been looking forward to. We went to Brussels, with day trips to Bruges, Leuven & Amsterdam, for about 9 days in May and had a wonderful time. Usually when we go on vacation I can immediately forget about everything I'm leaving behind and just bask in the relaxation and fun and culture of the trip. This time, it took me until at least half-way through the trip to finally start to relax and shed all the stress I had brought with me. Leading up to the trip I had been trying to finish up all my coursework, from my two incomplete classes at school. I had assignments and exams to makeup and was such a stressed-out mess that my face broke out in stress-induced dermatitis (according to my new dermatologist). We've been back from Brussels just over two weeks now and I'm finally beginning to feel like a normal person again. And it's summer, my favorite time of year, so I'm the happiest girl in America right now!


Today was my first post-mastectomy, post-implants mammogram of my right breast. I was really nervous about squishing my implant in that crazy machine. I had to sign a paper stating that I understand that while it is extremely uncommon, there is a possibility of implant rupture and further, that the benefit of the screening outweighs the risk of an implant rupture. It was explained to me that normally only two images are taken of each breast (only one breast in my case), but that with implants four images are taken: two of the whole breast (front & side) and two of just as much breast tissue as they can image while pushing the implant as far into the back of your chest as possible (front & side). I have had a mammogram before so I wasn't surprised by the yanking and pulling, followed by incredible pressure; but when the technician had to push the implant out of the way in order to take a picture of just breast tissue alone, that was definitely a bit uncomfortable. In the end all that matters is that when the doctor called me to her office to review the results of the exam, she gave me a clean boob of health! Woohoo!


My technician was a young girl who's friend was just diagnosed with breast cancer. The friend, who is only 37, has two young children. I told her to please tell her friend about Young Survival Coalition, so I think it's fitting that I give another "shout out" here to the YSC. Young Survival Coalition's website and support group meetings were very helpful to me before each of my surgeries. Check out their website here.

S-T-R-E-S-S

The word "stress" does not even begin to describe what I've been experiencing the past few weeks. Between still reeling from our cancer experience, running around like crazy in order to take make-up classes at school during lunch breaks and early evenings from work, and deadlines for a final paper and final exam approaching, plus the non-stop stampeding of the toddler upstairs, I've been ready to blow my top any second.


Over the past two or three weeks I developed some scaly dry red patches under my nose and on my chin. I went to a dermatologist who decided it looked like a type of dermatitis triggered by...you guessed it, stress! She said "Have you been under a lot of stress recently?" My first reaction was just to laugh. Sometimes when there's nothing else left, that is all you can do. This morning, D went to a cardiologist for a chest pain he'd been having. After thoroughly checking his heart and lungs it turns out it's probably just...yep, stress.


The good news is that after busting my butt for the past few weeks, I've crossed most of my responsibilities off my list and this weekend all I need to do is make two tiny adjustments to my final paper and continue studying for my exam next Wednesday. I'm so prepared that I don't have to cram all weekend either. Our yoga teacher is out tomorrow but I think we're gonna hit up our back-up yoga spot. The best news of all? Our vacation is getting closer and closer.