You’re fighting for your life. Stay Strong!

I know you’re tired. Rest is vital, but exercise can give you more energy. Try to get some exercise most days, even if you can only manage 5-10 minutes at a time. It can relieve your nausea, help you sleep better, and fight that horrible fatigue.

Beyond the physical benefits, exercise offers many psychological benefits as well. You’ll stay engaged with your body in a positive way. It promotes a sense of control and well-being. As your muscles get strong, you can feel your spirit getting stronger, too.

Find an exercise buddy – a friend or maybe one of your fellow patients. Make plans to exercise together – go for walks or bike rides, lift weights. Having a partner can help keep you motivated, especially when you’re not feeling great.

It’s important to start slowly. Even if you were in great shape before treatment, you need to begin exercising moderately. These are powerful treatments and you need to find out how your body will react to exercise now. If you were not active before, this is a great time to start a new, healthier lifestyle. Begin slowly. Go for a walk, try a few exercises, and see how your body reacts. The key is to start.

Julie Tip
I exercised, pushing myself throughout treatment. I didn’t know if I would survive, but I wanted to be strong enough to do things I enjoy.  And if I didn’t survive, I wanted to go out strong, fighting all the way.  Always, the day after the treatment, no matter how bad I felt, I would go outside for a walk.  Even if all I could manage was a trip to the mailbox or down the street, I needed to get out and get moving.   As I got weaker from the treatments I adjusted my fitness goals.  Pushing myself after months of chemo meant something very different than pushing myself before chemo, before surgery.  Towards the end of my chemotherapy I would be out of breath just walking up the stairs, so when I went to the pool, a hard workout might mean swimming only 4 laps with long rests at each end.

It’s not easy to keep strong during treatment. As you go through treatment, what you can expect from your body will change.  It’s important to accept whatever state your body is in and build from there.  For more information visit my blog.