Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

Last week was a very busy week - I had follow ups with my oncologist, surgeon, radiation oncologist and I had my first physical therapy session. But first, the surgeon. So what did they find? The surgeon decided to remove 4 lymph nodes, all of which tested negative for cancer - a tremendous relief for us. This is significant. As had been seen in the MRI, the pathology confirmed the shrinkage of the tumour and the surgeon had clear margins (that is, no cancer around the excision site). All good. The surgeon said everything was healing up quite nicely and at the appointment removed my drains. (After surgery, the surgeon leaves tubes attached to the surgery site that drain into plastic containers shaped like grenades. It drains lymphatic fluid and prevents infection.) The care and management of those drains (I had 4), while not painful in themselves was a very big hassle. The process of checking the drains, changing dressings, wrapping bandages etc., all without having the kids s...

I came across this article from WebMD about the personal stories of breast cancer survivors.  I find them tremendously encouraging and not only relevant to the specific subject of breast cancer, but also about handling adversity in general.  Some of the key points I noticed in these women's stories: They took action They were hopeful They had support They dealt with what they were facing in different ways.  In the words of one "you don't need to be a hero" while another decided to do just that and continued to go to the gym.  They are great examples of women who have met the challenge of breast cancer and made it through.  If they can do it, so can you.  No matter what your personal challenge is.  Take a read of the WebMD article Me and the girls. Breast cancer is a subject near to me, and I wanted to remind everyone (male and female), that there are wonderful opportunities to help support the cause: You can find events in your area at the Su...