Forums >Health and Nutrition>Anyone running minus a lung lobe?
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Next week I'll be having a lobectomy to (hopefully for good) eliminate 2 cancer mets in my right upper lobe. My surgeon assures me that I won't notice a major difference in my lung capacity, except maybe during redline efforts (finish line sprints, pedaling up hills, etc.). He has a teenage patient who has lost an entire lung and still runs XC. But I'm 46 with mild asthma...so not a teenager.
Just looking to manage my expectations, at this point, as I've found very few people in my cancer support groups who were avidly aerobically active prior to/during cancer treatments, much less afterwards. My PR days are likely long behind me due to age and menopause, anyhow...
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Team Effort
Zoom-zoom,
How is your recovery going? Well I pray. Godspeed and good luck.
Roger
www.runninngahead.com/groups/5000MC/forum
It's going pretty well, I think. The first couple of weeks were rough...walking up the stairs left me feeling like I was suffocating. By 5 weeks in recovery I was on vacation in Grand Cayman/Rum Point for a week and snorkeling (WAY more fun as PT than using that damned incentive spirometer!) for at least an hour or two EVERY day...and "running" a couple of times, too. By the 1 year mark my lung function will hopefully be nearly as good as it was before surgery. The remaining lobes will stretch to help fill the space left by the removed one.
Yesterday I finally logged my first outdoor ride since surgery. We did the 40 mile leg of a Fondo with a friend who made her mileage PR. I felt pretty damned strong, except on hills and stretches of solid headwind.
Was searching the forums tonight and came across your post and it hit home. You sound very strong and so impressive. I have often felt sorry for myself but your post puts things into perspective. 3.5 years ago I was sitting in a doctor office being told I have cancer in my lungs at age 39. I remember the drive home looking out the car window at runners jogging effortlessly by me. I thought I would never be one of them again. I ended up being properly diagnosed at mayo clinic with an auto immune disease in lungs and no cancer. I have slowly recovered and progressed from barely getting up a flight of stairs to half marathons now and in remission. Running is amazing for regenerating the lungs. And getting sick like that really makes you appreciate each day that you can run and breath the fresh air. Thank you for sharing. All the best on your progress and recovery.
zoom-zoom
im glad. you sound like your recovering well. it is amazing how the body can readjust to something "missing." i hope this takes care of that cancer for good too. you are an inspiration with strength like a lioness, but you know that.
i do have a question for you. how exactly did menopause effect your running in particular?