Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Mostly clean

I visited my radiology oncologist today. He said everything looks good. The detailed version of "looks good" is that my last scans still show some enlargement of the original nodes, but that's to be expected. Hodgkin's is notorious for leaving scar tissue behind and leaving nodes "stretched out". So, for now, we assume there's no cancer, as none was detected from the PET scan, but we keep an eye on it anyway. I'm ok with that.

Monday, February 19, 2007

So, I worked out last Friday. That's like last week. I thought about it over the weekend as I was wrestling my t-shirt - I haven't worked out in 20 years. I've excercised, done lots of biking and hiking, but haven't lifted weights. Did I mention that I am SORE!? Wow.

So, I got my training schedule from Mike last week. My goals are simple - get in shape, lose weight, regain the muscle lost from chemo, get my legs back (for biking, not modeling), get my lungs back. I'm pretty excited about the plan, actually. I'm finally fitting back into jeans that I haven't worn for over 2 years. I'm actually concerned about what I eat again. I look forward to my long and hard riding days. Don't expect a high-five from me though, because I just... can't... lift my arms right now. :/

Monday, February 05, 2007

Is something burning?

It must have been my legs. I couldn't figure out what was slowing me down - while it felt like an anchor, I suspected my brake pads were dragging. It turns out that I was so bundled up for the cold, that I didn't realize the HEADWIND! And let me just say, for the record, that headwinds suck. The one Saturday turned my 40 mile ride into a 15 mile it-feels-so-good-to-be-home ride.

I sure have been thinking about cancer a lot lately. I wish it would go away. I want to move on to thinking about other stuff, but it keeps showing up uninvited. It's a motivator, I suppose. It's making me put my health as a higher priority. I'm losing weight and riding more. I'm much more concerned about what food I'm eating (well, except for an occassional late-night pig fest). Don't get me wrong - I don't mind thinking or talking about cancer, I just want to do it when I want to do it. I want the choice to think about it or not. Right now, it's just always there. And sometimes, I just wish it would go away.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Spinning...

Wow. I sent out an email yesterday at lunch asking for support for the century ride in Tahoe. By the time I got back from lunch, I already had over $750 in contributions! I'm constantly amazed at the generosity of people. In fact, I'm pretty overwelmed by it.

I had a great spin last night at the gym. My friend Cliff, from the Hodgkin's forum, is making some biking videos and putting them up on youtube. Cliff is a pretty amazing guy who's been in his own Hodge battle for quite some time. Spinning in a gym isn't on of my favorite things to do, but I'm really committed to this training thing and just getting healthier in general. Well, last night, I warmed up, cranked up some good music on the mp3 player, settled into a good, hard pace, canked up the heart rate, closed my eyes, and imagined riding along on Cliff's rides. It was an awesome ride. Cliff, we'll ride together for real one of these days, I'm sure of it!