48 weeks of chemo

[larry harley]

hi my name is harley
i,m a bladesmith and ive worked out off and on since 1963
i,m 55 now and just finished 48 weeks of chemo i haadnt worked out for 4 yrs before and just spent the last 48 weeks sick and in bed( i know how many flowers r on the wall):)
u can see some before and after pics at my websight
www.lonesomepineknives.com
can i drop a link here??
(if not moderators deleat it)
take a look at the hammerin pics from this past yr
bag o skin and fat
compared to some of the pics where i,m working
soooo
i,m at a los as to what to do
i fell like jabba the blacksmith:)
i,m not sick any more(yea)
but energey level is low
when i stoped working out last time i was afrade to work heavey
i had just conquered 5 set of 300 for 20 reps i was 240 then
i,m 300 now
thats was 5 yrs ago
i need advice on starting back and most of all food
any
HELP???
HARLEY

[Jay Hagadorn]

Larry-

I would suggest eating as natural as possible, eating good wholesome food (by wholesome I do not mean gravy.) Try to eat every 2.5 to three hours. Eat more of your complex carbs early in the day. Focus more on proteins and veggies from midday on. Anything that has been processed is bad. Breaded food is not good (I mean good for you.) Also a man your size needs to be drinking about 1.5gallons of water per day, more if you get very active. Quit smokin' the stogies if you still are and drink coffee in moderation. These are just some simple suggestions. You should seriously consider getting the advise of a local nutritionist, your doctor should know of a good one. As for your workout, you probably still feel like you got hit by a Mac truck and that you have just finished a 24 hour working shift. Remember to ease back into it. At this point I would just try to work out regularly with a light resistance program and do some form of cardio everyday. Your website is cool by the way. Welcome to the forum, I pray you get strong fast...

[larry harley]

thanks for the encouragement
i wish there had been a place like this when i was a kid:)
when u get as old as i am in this sport its a journey thing insted of a destination
harley

[Tony Christopher]

You have 9 years in age on me (I'm 46) but we do have the cancer thing in common. I had surgery and 2 months of chemo ... wiped me out completely. I could barely move the empty bars when I came back to the weight room.

However, these days I'm stronger than I ever was pre-cancer. I'm deadlifting over 400, squatting over 500 and benching close to 400. OK, not exactly world class numbers, and nothing compared to some of the monsters who post here ... but not bad for an old guy and the strongest I've ever been in my life.

Take it slow at first ... build up your cardio system with walking, cycling, or whatever aerobic activity you enjoy. Start training very light, but with good, quality compound movements (squats, deadlifts, military presses, bench, rows etc.)

If you were strong once your body will remember, and recover strength quickly.

And always keep your doctors in the loop. We web folks are always happy to give advice and encouragement, but we don't know your complete medical history.

I know it sounds like a cliche, but get your docs OK before starting up any exercise routine, especially after your body has suffered a trauma like cancer and it's treatment.

Best of luck and God bless!

Tony

[kara]

welcome larry! we are glad to have you posting here. :) if you'd like, start a log in the members training journal section. it would be great to see your progress and watch you regain your strength.

tony is extremely modest. at 46 years old after beating cancer, he is putting many men half his age to shame. tony and jay are incredibly knowledgeable and gave great advice.

best of luck to you in a fast and strong recovery. looking forward to reading your posts!

kara

[Tony Christopher]

tony is extremely modest. at 46 years old after beating cancer, he is putting many men half his age to shame.
kara

Kara,

I'M MODEST?!?

This is the same young lady who, on another website, claimed that she's "not very good at raw bench" because she can ONLY push 225 x 12 (@ a bodyweight of under 150 pounds, if I'm not mistaken).

Pot calling the kettle black, eh? :T:

[kara]

lol tony!!! thank you :) i'm still waiting on the video of that guy who said he did 50 ha ha.

[Paul F.X. Armstrong]

first of all God Bless you--a very brave and tough man to be up and around after all of that--

----secondly--any pics of that battle ax you and a friend were forging--very interested--
thanks

[Derek Williams]

Congratulations on beating cancer. Man that is great. Also, very nice website. I really like those knives you make. Impressive.

As far as recovery, I know exactly what you are going through. I just posted another thread on this board about my recovery. I had Environmental Illness, which consisted of Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivities, multiple food allergies, and at one time, I had Addison's disease, which is when your adrenals don't produce any cortisol. Addison's can be fatal if not treated properly. My testosterone levels are also extremely low, and I am currently on testosterone replacement therapy for it until it recovers.

I treated all but the endocrine stuff (Addison's and low testosterone) with alternative medicine. I am also trying to make a comeback, and it is tough. With the chronic fatigue, I am much weaker than I used to be, and I cannot handle much training volume yet either. Being a full time student in acupuncture school also makes it tough.

I would advise you to take it slow. Just do what you can. I have gone to the gym, and despite how wimpy it looks, just done reps with the bar on bench and squat. My first month back, all I did was the bar and very light dumbells. But that was really all my body would handle.

The diet advice given earlier sounded very good.

You might want to look into taking antioxidants also, like selenium, vitamins A, C, E, and maybe some anticancer herbs like Essiac Tea. You can ask for Essiac at a health food store. I know of several cancer patients who used this and beat cancer and are now 100% healthy.

As far as diet goes, I have done best on an isocaloric diet, meaning that it's
1/3 of calories from protein,
1/3 of calories from carbs, and
1/3 of calories from fats.

Make sure you are eating very clean though. No junk. Egg whites are a very clean source of protein. I like to get my fats from cold water fish and things like nuts and seeds and supplemental oils (like flax). Carbs from veggies and rice and sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Just take it easy in the gym and try not to overdo it. I have been finding out that my body lets me know when its ready to move up and do more. When I try to do more that it's ready for, I get either hurt or sick.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Derek

[larry harley]

u guys, were really nice
i cant tell u what a kick to the ego itis trying to work out again is
im 56
i used to could controll my weight pretty good but my metablism comes from syntrhroid now
all this diet and working out r almost like starting the same journey over but on a different road
and remember when u get to be my age
while i,m not goalless the journey is as importent as the goal
at 50 i was doing 5 sets of 300 for 20 reps
today i got whuped by 100 lbs!!!!!!! 3 sets of 15
doing mostly calastetics w sm weghts
and i,m SORE
cant seem to work sore out its more stiff than sore
i can believe how my flexiability has gone away too
knees sound like someone racking a 12 gauge
and i have NO core strength
but i ant doing chemo no more ,no more!!!:)
ive started to work in my shop some no heavey forgeing
just light stockremoval knives
i made the mistake of grabing the chin saw and my truck and driving around the yard cutting up LARGE limbs
heaven help
\the next 3 days it took both hands to reach my face
had to grab one elbow w the off hand and get coffey to my face lol
when i was a young man
my dad took me across the mtn to see a strong man
he was paul anderson
i was inspired then
i still am
harley

[Stephen Calhoun]

Glad to have you here. I am another cancer patient here at this site. I am still in the medication fight. Mercaptopurine for almost two years now. I go in wed. for some more biopsies(sp) to see if we go to surgery. This site has been essental for me and the building my body to fight against the cancer. After months of lurking I finally posted my journal. It is not much now but I know that after I finally beat this thing the tracking of my fitness will be enjoyable to look back and see how far I came.

[larry harley]

econdly--any pics of that battle ax you and a friend were forging--very interested--
thanks
nope sorry
i really didnt mean to drop links here to sell stuffff
honest
i got a couple of yrs back orders
i droped the links so folks could see i wasnt a computer strong man:)
there r a lot of computer knife experts in my world( knife forums etc)
dont get mer wrong!!
:)
i make knives for money and no order is too sm

[larry harley]

Glad to have you here. I am another cancer patient here at this site. I am still in the medication fight. Mercaptopurine for almost two years now. I go in wed. for some more biopsies(sp) to see if we go to surgery. This site has been essental for me and the building my body to fight against the cancer. After months of lurking I finally posted my journal. It is not much now but I know that after I finally beat this thing the tracking of my fitness will be enjoyable to look back and see how far I came.


i got to do 48 weeks of a lovey drug called interferon and another call rebatron
wonderful cocktail

u hang in there!!!!!!!!!
if we can do chemo
this weight lifting thing ant nothing but a thing
and a small one at that:)
i,m 56
and ive decided that before the time they throw dirt on me i,ll bench 500
again:)!!!
but thats really not why i,m here
this weight lifting thing is a good path
its a path that has heart
i need to start a journal too
but first i gotta be able to do something besides wave my arms in the air w a pair of 5s:) lol
i honestly figure it,ll take 2 or 3 mos of sclephing aroud w weights before i,mm able to really work out
stay in touch
and fight the good fight
harley

[dan4745]

Larry, first of all congratulations on beating the cancer! I went through a bout of it myself. In August of 2004 I was diagnosed with Stage III advanced large B cell lymphoma. My doctors basically told me to make my final preparations and I was admitted to Home Hospice. Instead of sitting at home I was back in the gym 16 days after lung surgery.

Even though the chemo is done the affects will linger on for a long while after. I didn't know the chemo would weaken the bones and tendons and ended up tearing a biceps tendon while doing and easy 385 deadlift! A doctor told me it might take a year for everything to go back to normal even after chemo has been stopped especially after being on for as long as we were. Keep the training up but don't be frustrated if the gains don't come back as fast as you'd expect them to. Remember all the cells in your body have absorbed the chemo and it will take time for all that to be flushed out! The nutrition advice you've received here is great! If you don't eat as many veggies and fruits as you should ad Greens + to your daily regimen! Good luck and keep at it!!

[larry harley]

[QUOTE=dan4745]Larry, first of all congratulations on beating the cancer! I went through a bout of it myself. In August of 2004 I was diagnosed with Stage III advanced large B cell lymphoma. My doctors basically told me to make my final preparations and I was admitted to Home Hospice. Instead of sitting at home I was back in the gym 16 days after lung surgery.

Even though the chemo is done the affects will linger on for a long while after. I didn't know the chemo would weaken the bones and tendons and ended up tearing a biceps tendon while doing and easy 385 deadlift!

id thought about my bones etc
i started breaking teeth about 6 mos into treatment; chips, and breaks
i thought it was cavities till i went to the dentist and he told me chemo
so i kinda figured bone and connective tissue were not all they shoulkd be
i havent lifted heavey in a long long time
i,m mostley into the form and as strict as i can at high reps(10-20)
i got up to 5 set of 15 w 100 lbs yester day
if i was ice tea id be so weak u could see plumb throuigh me:)
harley