Recovery time

Hi again Rural man …… my very wise Consultant told me that going through treatments like these is like doing a boxing match and a marathon every day over the months of treatments and this was done without any training.

Think doing the London Marathon without any training and you had to finish it as your life depended on it……. this is the journey you have been on so it most likely will take much longer than you would think to get back to some normality - it took me a good 2 years and I was 60 at the start of my second SCT recovery…… so I may have had a more demanding set of treatments.

You may find it helpful to make a cuppa and have a look at this great paper After Treatment Finishes - Then What? by Dr Peter Harvey as it highlights the post treatment milestones.….. with one of the areas covers overcome living with uncertainty.

A year is realistic….. but you could recover quicker.

Thankyou Mike.

having had bowel cancer in 2009 and recovering quickly, I guess I foolishly thought I’d do the same this time .

 I’m an impatient person by nature so it’s very frustrating.

net result is I then get very anxious about my lack of physical ability.

A vicious circle and annoying for friends because I’m also brilliant at moaning all day long about every ache and pain .

I’m a lucky chap and must remember that !

The problem with the treatments we have had is it has been over a long period of time and these treatment not only kill of the cancer cells but also healthy cells and muscle mass.

These signs are everywhere in our Heamatology Units.

….. and it is very true.

Even although I was 60 when I finished my treatment I had a physical body of a 90 year old….. and in the recovery world the less you do the longer recovery takes as you as you are having to rebuild muscle mass that has been eroded over treatment……. and in doing this brings lots of aches and pains in the process.

I had to have 3-4 months physiotherapy to get me walking again then it was all about setting out (on paper) achievable goals for the week then for each day and having this plan in place helped me to get my mobility and strength back.

I also attended a weekly cancer specific circuits class at my local Maggie's Centre, this was run by a cancer trained fitness instructor who set specific exercises for each person…… recovery won’t come by itself…… it requires some hard work and commitment,

Very sorry to hear this. Your bone marrow has taken a beating during treatment and, even if your blood tests are fine, those blood cells may not be as healthy as they once were. Our marrow ages with us and becomes fatigued simply from age. The assault of cancer treatment only makes this worse. Thus, the recovery process will take longer than we prefer, and sadly, recovery may not be as complete as on prior occasions. You might ring up and see if there is something, perhaps an exercise regimen - how ever mild it begins - might help. Vitamin supplementation (with advise) can be of help. It may take a number of seemingly minor efforts to make a substantial improvement.

I had a stem cell transplant in 2015 and struggle to this day with energy. Toward that end, I consume energy drinks and exercise on a regular basis - missing a day here or there depending on my energy level and overall "drive." In the meantime. I remember that one must be alive to have complaints - therefore I must be as alive as I have ever been. Life is still worth living and we can both love and be loved. For me, that is enough.

We have those exact same signs in the oncology wards here.

I think i was about 18 months to get back to close to 100%

I was noticing improvements each month though. Bit longer walks / cycles., Bit more in the garden etc.

It took about two and a half years to get back on ski's though would have tried earlier if lockdown had not  scuppered that.