teekona wrote:
I'll attempt to not bore anyone too much by giving a condensed version of my last six months, such as I can. I was diagnosed in September with occular melanoma, on my right retina. The treatment was a radioactive implant that I had to have on for five days. A biopsy revealed that it was not melanoma, but rather a secondary carcinoma, meaning that it had come from somewhere else in my body. Subsequent testing revealed a carcinoma in my right lung. The treatment for that was a lobectomy, with the lower and middle lobes of my right lung removed. That surgery was Dec. 3. I missed 10 weeks of work recovering from the surgery, and returned to work on Feb. 10. I am 56 years old, and have been doing multisport since 1994. The only events I have ever done have been sprint duathlons, generally about 8-10 per year (and yes, I understand where that puts me on the ST totem pole). I started riding my bike on the trainer at the beginning of January and took my first ride outside since Thanksgiving on Jan. 13. It was a momentous occasion for me. Unfortunately, the weather here in the Northeast has kept me on the trainer other than that week. I started running two weeks ago. I'm running for 5 minutes, then walking for three at this point, for a total of 25 minutes, with the intention of slowly increasing that. I can't believe how tired my legs have been, most likely a combination of not running for three months and my diminished lung capacity. I am willing to be patient and take my time. While it is very frustrating to have gone from running 6 days a week (30 mpw) to barely being able to finish the 5 minute run portion of a run/walk, like I told my Wife, I need to focus on what I can do, not what I can't.
The good news is that the cancer in both my eye and my lung is gone, and I don't have to receive chemo, radiation, or any other treatment. I just have to get myself back in shape. Thanks for reading.
Nice. I am a few years ahead of you. Healthy all my life, 3 years ago, they found a 5 cm malignancy in my upper right lobe of my lung and out it came (along with my upper right lobe). I was a runner, and now a triathlete because the doctor said swimming would be good for my lung recovery. I bought a nice Colnago too. So now I squeek / weeze when I really work; my former lung capacity isn't what it used to be. But I am 56 and I feel great, all things considered. And I have some great scars. Dr. Parker, the surgeon here in Denver told me "scars are like tatoos but with better stories."
My surgeon was awesome, but how about that recovery? Fever, stitches, drugs... OMG. Shit that was tough. It sounds like you had a worse diagnosis than me, and 6 months after I was barely back. I'd say 75%. It really took a year until I was 100%. So take it easy, enjoy things and count your lucky stars. You (we) got a chance many don't get.