Chemo Schmemo

Almost two weeks ago I had my first round of chemo. And by the time I got to my appointment, pretty much all of my anxiety, anger and negative feelings had disappeared. By the time I got there, I was ready to just get it over with, do what I had to do, and was determined to make the best of it. I had 16 weeks of treatment ahead of me, and I will not waste that amount of time in a bad mood.

 

My chair was in an insanely sunny area of the ‘Chemo Suite’, and for those of you who know me you know that sunshine is my THING. I live for sun, the sun is my spirit animal, and on vacations I soak in ‘every last drop’ – meaning I literally stay in the sun until every last drop of the rays have turned into shade… it’s not crazy, it’s my thing. I took the fact that I had to wear sunglasses through my treatment as a very positive sign, it was the universe delivering exactly what I needed.

 

I didn’t feel much during the treatment, physically. It lasted just over an hour, and the nurse administered two different chemo drugs during that time. It honestly didn’t seem like a big deal. I did however have a couple of emotional moments, which is probably pretty normal. Although, I’m not very emotional personally, so it caught me off guard.

 

The first time was when the nurse was telling me how sometimes it’s hard for them to get some grown adults physically through the chemo suite doors – like some people won’t walk through – the nurses have to take them by the hand and physically get them into the chairs, and really work at getting them their treatment.

 

This hit me hard because the visual popped into my head and I suddenly realized ‘Holy crap, this is a super scary thing for people, and it’s happening to me’. The grossness of the whole thing seeped into my brain as I looked at my husband, who was there with me, and I practically whispered “I can’t believe this is happening right now”. He looked back at my sympathetically, I looked away, and forced my mind to get control, and get positive again.

 

But then there was a second time, when the nurse was injecting the first medication into my PICC line. It was bright red, we talked about it a little bit, and then she told me “this is the one that makes your hair fall out’. It hurt.  A lot. Like I know that it’s going to happen, the doctors made it very clear it was a guaranteed side effect… they didn’t want me to get my hopes up because ‘some people don’t lose their hair during chemo’. That wouldn’t be me, and now it’s in my body, and there is no turning back. My little emotional moment didn’t last too long, because again I looked at my husband and very clearly said “fucking ew”. He laughed, I laughed, the nurse laughed.. And we all lived happily ever after.

 

That was abrupt. Here’s the rest. If you’re still with me.

 

The side effects following the treatment weren’t too bad. I had a medication schedule after my treatment to battle the nausea and vomiting, I had a nurse visit my home for three days to hook my PICC to a saline hydration treatment, and an immune booster shot for 7 days to help keep me healthy. They definitely set you up for success, and do everything possible to make it bearable. For the first week following the treatment I was fatigued, I could feel my heart beating in my chest and my body just felt heavy. I was nauseas, had a pretty major headache, some body aches… felt generally not great. But all of which could be helped with Tylenol or extra anti-nausea pills. It wasn’t anything major.

 

By the time the second weekend rolled around I was feeling like my normal self again. I had a ton of energy, I was happy, positive and borderline hyperactive haha. Like, it felt so good to feel normal – I felt way above normal! I caught up with friends, drank wine, went to a large event with colleagues, worked out, went skating with kids and friends, organized my whole house (literally decluttered every closet and kid toy shelf that existed), meal prepped, met with clients and friends, got to work, and did a full Bootcamp class! It was a great week.

 

And I still have all my hair.

 

Tomorrow I go round 2, and I’ll consider myself lucky if things go the same way! Wish me luck.

 

Side note: For those of you who were thinking to yourself ‘the sun isn’t an animal’ – yes, I realize the sun is not an animal, you get what I mean, that’s just how much I love the sun.

The Cancer.

So, I have Breast Cancer. Turns out that is a thing that can actually happen to you, at the age of 33, seemingly out of nowhere. As I sit here and type my first blog post on the subject, it still feels incredibly strange that this is happening. It doesn’t feel real. And by that I mean exactly what it sounds like… it simply doesn’t feel like it’s happening to me.

I’ve had a bilateral mastectomy, with partial reconstruction – my body is forever changed – plus I have chemotherapy – what most would consider to be the scariest and worst medical treatment out there – currently running through my bloodstream – and it still doesn’t feel real. I’m in a place where every day I just do what I have to do what’s next, and then I wake up again the next day and do whatever is next again. I’ve been calling it business as usual, except I have a new usual.

The new usual consists of me making it my full time job to do everything I can to get me out of this situation, in the best shape possible. Visits to the hospital and clinics are now a part of my job, taking medication on a meticulous schedule is now a part of my job, arranging for childcare, taking care of administrative crap, dealing with insurance companies, home nursing and managing my symptoms are now all just a part of my full time job.

I’ve definitely had better gigs in my day, but never a more important one. So here I am, making the best of a difficult situation, taking it all one day at a time and focusing on maintaining a positive mindset through and through. That’s my plan, that’s my job, and this is my life.

Your Workout: Timed hiit circuit, no equipment (video link)

Time this circuit! 30 seconds of each move.

8 moves , 20 minutes total. Take as little breaks as possible!

Up Down Plank

Butt 100’s – Curl back

Butt 100’s – Pulse

Butt 100’s – Side knee up

Butt 100’s – Curl back (other side)

Butt 100’s – Pulse (other side)

Butt 100’s – Side knee up (other side)

Triceps dip pulses

Your workout: Exercise band & crunches

Need a quick way to get a workout in while you’re at home, travelling for work or on vacation? You can pick up an exercise band from most major retailers for around $10. It’s easy to change the resistance by simply making the band longer or shorter with a wide or narrow stance, or by gripping the band in different places. Practice controlled movements, slowing it down to make sure you feel each repetition of each exercise properly.

Sequence 1: Do 15 reps of each exercise, repeat sequence 3 times.

Body weight squats

Side step shuffle (step on the band, push out to the side)

Standing bent shoulder fly

Forward leaning triceps kick back extension

 

Sequence 2: Do 15 reps of each exercise, repeat sequence 3 times.

Alternating forward lunges

Forward straight arm shoulder fly

Sitting narrow row

Standing bicep curls

 

Sequence 3: Ab crunches 4 ways. Do 20 repetitions of each exercise.

Twist crunch to one side, twist crunch to the other side, regular forward crunch, reverse leg up crunch.

10 OF MY FAV HEALTHY FOOD SWAPS

We all love to eat food. And often our favorite meals aren’t exactly super good for you. So, in order to make eating healthy not suck, I like to swap out certain ingredients in each meal to create a healthier version of it. Here are some of my favorite healthy food swaps!

SWAP pasta noodles for ZUCHINNI SPIRALS          …………… SWAP tortilla shells for LETTUCE WRAPS

SWAP rice noodles for SHIRATAKI NOODLES         …………… SWAP hamburger buns for PORTABELLO MUSHROOM CAPS

SWAP crackers for APPLE SLICES                                ………….. SWAP juice for FRUIT & VEG INFUSED WATER

SWAP bread crumbs for GROUND ALMONDS          ………….. SWAP mashed potatoes for MASHED CAULIFLOWER

SWAP French fries for BAKED ZUCCHINI FRIES    …………… SWAP spaghetti noodles for SPAGHETTI SQUASH

These changes will do wonders for your weight loss and healthy eating goals, plus a major benefit is that you can eat more! THAT is something I’ve always been willing to get behind, you should try too!