Exercise

I carried on running Lee. I took a week or two off after surgery, but still walked at least an hour each day, and then carried on running 15k per week until week 2 of chemo/radiotherapy. I still carried on walking and cycling though and then resumed my running after about three months. (It came back surprisingly easily.) If you just have surgery you will only need a short break but if you have radio and/or chemo you will need to take a longer break from the running. The good news is, though, that there is piles of evidence to show that if you’re fit going into this then you will cope with the treatment better and recover more quickly. Good luck to you on your coming journey. It’s very treatable and you’ll get tons of advice from the good people in here. M

Thanks for this. Are you able to run with a PEG? I realise I will need to bring the intensity down if I feel fatigue. I'm aiming to do what i can as my exercise has been good for my mental state.

Hi Lee. I was a runner before I got cancer and really didn't have the energy to keep going much during radiotherapy which did poleaxe me. But then I am likely older than. you. I was nigh on 68 when my treatment started. Mark is right. The fitter you are the fitter you should stay though you might have to slow down a bit.  is a member here and he cycled to his treatments. It's good that you have a feeding tube because you'll be able to keep up the nutrition and maintain your weight. Good luck and best wishes

I didn’t have a PEG fitted Lee so can’t comment, but plenty in here have had one. And yes, you’ll need to slow down and concentrate on maintenance runs rather than going for PBs! 

Hi

I managed to keep practising yoga throughout my treatment until the last 2 weeks and then the 2 weeks subsequently. I felt so tired during these 4 weeks. However yoga breathing so helped during this time and in fact any time I felt stressed. It is now 14 weeks after treatment stopped and I attended a yoga retreat mid January and now back to classes regularly. I so recommend yoga during this journey as a way to really maintain fitness and also for mental health. As others have said your level of fitness at the start will be a real help for you during your treatment. Do listen to your body.  All the very best x

Hi Lee I cycled 100km week before diagnosis I was 61/when diagnosed. I used our indoor trainer the first few weeks if treatment and continues to walk about an hour a day not a runner. As treatment progressed radiation fatigue kicked in and body slowed down. Saying that week 8 I flew to Spain for 3 weeks and did my first outdoor bike ride only  8 km but each km was worth it. I do feel it aided my recovery. I had a n g tube fitted which I took out week 3 of recovery and maintained nutrition orally it’s nit easy but listen to your body is all I can say. 
Of course I am older than you, just remember don’t push too much.

Hazel x

Hi Lee.  I am nowhere in your category of exercise but  being fit before and keeping a good level of exercise during and after treatment is key to a good recovery.  I only had surgery, but 2 days after I was discharged each time I was doing short walks with the dog and by the end of week 3 post surgery back to 6+km over the hills with the dog.  Take it steady and breath in the air deeply.  Mentally and physically it will do wonders.  Good luck.

Hi Lee

I am intermediate to advanced in pilates. If we talk about radiotherapy only most likely you will stop training from week 2 to 3 to resume at least 2 weeks after If you need neck dissection it gets trickier I am doing very modified exercises now even three years later Some of them are off my list forever I guess Boxing might be a challenge as well All cardio is ok, even swimming is manageable as well

Hi Bodyfirst, the PEG will not hinder your running , some people tape it to thier stomach so it does not move about as much or catch up on anything. You might struggle about midway through treatment but we are all different on how we react and recover from chemo and radiotherapy, it sounds as if you know a lot about fitness but dont overdo it as sometimes your body needs to rest. Good luck with you positive attitude. All the best.

                                                                                   Chris 

Hey Lee

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis :-( been there

Gym is everything to me, runs, weights, saunas, football, all I could think about was how I don't want to stop doing any of that! went gym a week after my lymph node was taken out, worked out body parts that did not involve shoulders. Few weeks after that had my main surgery, 4 tonsils and cancer itself removed, agony, started going gym about 3 weeks after that. Then had 6 teeth taken out, went gym week after that. Then came radio / chemo, don't know which one is worse. Had chemo all night, followed by radio therapy in the morning, was so sick, started going gym about 3-4 days after that, drove and everything. was told my hair would start to fall out after 3 weeks, 21 days, so i'm at the gym on my 21st day, had a bit of facial hair on, touched it, it just came off! touched my head hair, same! small chunks would come off! it was all fine the day before! interesting how precise the doctors were. anyhow, that was my last day at the gym. week after that we had our 1st lockdown, i was quite fit, muscly, 75kg, lost 20kg, started using dumbells around june / july, also started running, slowly, as all I had left were just bones. Started putting weight back on slowly. I completely understand how important those things are to you, you're a fighter, strong one, to me, gym was always NO MATTER WHAT, flu, broken toe, broken rib, headache, doesn't matter,  you sound the same! So work out until the very last minute, do your runs, do your boxing, no matter what! cancer?! so what! a bit of a tip for you now though, put as much weight on now as you can, double up your calorie intake, triple it, shakes, meals, fat meals, ice creams, more shakes, peanut butter, I wish I done that, it will hurt in your head later when you're losing muscles and wish you had fat to loose instead. If anything, feel free to reach out
Wish you all the best brother