January 17th...Fitness Progress

Toni and I started our fitness program last week.   So far, it is a combination of a little fun, some aerobic fitness, and a Bowflex that we bought just prior to Toni finding out about her cancer. Toni will also be listening to input from the MOST team at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (see blog below).  The plan is to work in a variety of exercises very gradually.

We kicked on the Wii this weekend... what a hoot.  The Wii will most likely be a monotony breaker.   We have the Wii Fit Plus program and board.   As we have to share, we are looking at ways to weave it into our routine.    Toni is finding some of the yoga and follow-along aerobic dancing programs to be quite fun.   My knees are not quite lending themselves to the pounding, so I will probably warm up with a couple of low impact fun games, and then hit the Bowflex.  As far as the Wii... I like one of the walking/jogging games where you have to keep pace with a cat.  I imagine I am chasing Mr. Maggie when he wakes us up at 1:30am wanting to be fed.   Passive revenge.  

We will probably get two or three walks in a week, plus some bike rides (weather dependent).   The misty rain is fine to ride in... but we have had some fairly strong storms as of late.   This past weekend was near perfect.   Just a bit chilly but the wind was calm.   Toni and I rode part of the Sammamish River trail.  We are going to add about 10% more mileage each week, whether walking and biking.

More later...

Toni's Oncology Visit

And so another visit to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance completed today.   This visit focused on Toni's upcoming 5yr stint of estrogen suppression.  Toni started off the afternoon with a blood draw.   The good news is... everthing seems to be in the "normal" range.   Wahoo!!!

Dr. Linden walked us through the possibilities: 1) do nothing (Dr. Linden was quite determined in letting us know that would not be a good decision, 2) participation in a study of ovary suppression (shots) and/or tamoxifen, or 3) a couple years of tamoxifen (then check to see if menopause has taken hold) and act accordingly.   So, it appears Toni selected what is behind Door #3.   Technically it is 5yrs of something (tamoxifen or some combination of tamoxifen and a switch to another drug later).   The whole idea.... the ovaries need to forever go into deep storage (like radioactive material in Nevada).  It would appear in some way that Toni is experiencing part of the "menopausal" trend.  Read that as "nothing going on down there, that usually happens monthly."   Y'all got what I mean?     However... no other symptoms exist that scream "congratulations Toni, you have hit menopause."  So, prescription in hand, Toni will start tamoxifen this week.

In other news, Toni has this "juicer machine (think Willy Wonka)" for her lymphodema.   It wraps up her right side, waist and legs creating a "massaging" effect to work the lymphatic system.   Oh yeah... this will be a Kodak moment on Sunday afternoon when the trainer comes to visit with us.

By the way, Dr. Linden was adamant about Toni "easing" back into work.   It was one of those... you push too hard, you'll be sorry discussions.   Toni listened.

And finally... our Wii arrived today.   So we are on track to start part of our fitness routine (with Dr. Linden's insistence might I add).   Toni has to go easy, but she is good to go to start physical training.   Dr. Linden is also going to have her attend M.O.S.T. (Medical Oncology Survivors Team) which provides analysis of Toni's condition and what she can do to lead a healthier life. You can check it out at http://www.fhcrc.org/patient/support/survivorship/services/survive_care_plan.html

Love to all.

Toni Back with Friends in Colorado for the Holidays

Toni was once again surrounded by friends Robyn, Janet and Becky over the holiday.Our visit to Colorado was the highlight of our year, as Toni ended her chemo treatments, just prior to our arrival on the 18th.   It was good to be with family and friends.   Unfortunately, I wound up being sick for most of the holiday, which kept us from really getting out and about as much as we had planned.

So we start off 2010, somewhat where we thought we were going to start off 2009, until Toni news of cancer entered into our lives.   And there was not a blog.  Yet the blog will continue.

Here we go, so what's up with Toni and Bry?

First, Toni will soon start taking Tamoxifen (a SERM: Seletive Estrogen Receptor Modulator).  It will help to prevent re-occurrence of the cancer in the breast as well as prevent the creation of cancer also. Toni and I will be meeting with her oncologist on Wednesday (Jan. 6th) to discuss options, start dates, forced menopause, etc.

Second, this year is "Get in shape" year. Last year, it was our goal to really get going.   And we had started just over a year ago... only to get sidetracked.  We are putting a routine together comprised of Wii Fit, weight lifting (Bowflex light workouts), walking, weekend biking, and dancing (something we have always wanted to do).  So, we are going to track our progress on the blog.

We are going to put the calendar together this week.  And we'll start this coming weekend, after consulting with her doctor.  We'll post pictures of our activities, track pounds lost, and routines accomplished.  Should be fun.  Although we were able to visit some volcanoes and enjoy some the Northwest over the past year, we significantly curtailed our activities.  Call us stir crazy, but we want to get back into enjoying our ourselves.

We will appreciate all the support we can get. And hopefully our new journey will lead to some entertaining moments.