Category: Me

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Activities Cancer Health Me Running

Ready to Run!

Last month I ran in my first ever running race, The Denver Koman Race for the Cure, supporting breast cancer.  At the end of that post, I mentioned my running journey was going to be continued.  

On Saturday, I will run in my second race.  It is the Denver’s Veteran’s 5K race, before the Veteran’s Day Parade in downtown Denver.   One big difference in this race from the Race for the Cure, is this race will be timed.  I will have an official finishing time and ranking at the end of the race.  I’m curious to see where I end up for my age group.

I have been running three to four times a week, and doing some yoga stretches and breathing on the days I don’t run.  I have been reading up on some suggestions on how to improve speed, and after a few trial and errors, I think I found a method that works for me.  Part of what I have included in my training, is I have been trying to run up more hills once a week to strengthen my legs.  I have also been devoting one run to half the distance of a 5K (1.6 miles) but running at a faster pace.  After another run, I will sprint about 400 yards, and then walk 400 yards a few times.

This seems to be working.  Before the Race for the Cure, my time averaged around 38 minutes.  Last week I had my best 5K run time ever- exactly 30 minutes.  I’m pretty happy in less than a month, I’ve been able to drop eight minutes off my time.  On Friday I went on a run, and more than half the path was icy and snow packed.  I adjusted my running to run on the snow, and I ran 3.4 miles in 31 minutes. Running in the snow was a good work-out for my legs as well.  I’ll admit it though- I have a bit of a competitive streak in me.  Running seems to bring that out, in that I want to keep getting faster.  My goal for the race on Saturday is to finish under 30 minutes.

Part of what I enjoy about running are the challenges.  Obviously there is the physical aspect, but I also like the mental challenge.  I have learned (and am still learning) how to really zero in on what my body is doing, and it forces me to stay focused. I have never been a great breather- I am finding in order to do so, I really have to concentrate on it. For me, that is the key to a good run-proper breathing. 

The elements are another challenge.  The weather has been cold, and it is totally different running in 20 degree weather than 40 degree weather.  I went on a run today dressed warmly, but ten minutes into it, I was way too hot.  I didn’t want to stop, so I shed some layers, tying them around my waist while running and kept on. I don’t want to be shedding layers during the race and be carrying extra clothing, so every time something like this happens, I learn something from it and learn how to make the adjustment. 

I also have a “secret weapon” for this race, which I didn’t have in the last race.  I’m not quite ready to reveal it yet, but I think part of me getting faster can be attributed to these!  For the rest this week, I am going to do another 5K run on Tuesday, followed by some sprinting, a 1.6 mile run on Thursday, and I should be rested and ready for Saturday.  Like last month, I’m excited and so happy that I’m healthy enough to do this! 

The race last month was a good way to get back into an exercise program while taking it at a comfortable pace.  I’m going to push myself more in this race and see how far I can go- I’m ready to run!

If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now.  Don’t spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it.  ~ Priscilla Welch 

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Cancer Cole Family & Friends Health Me Ryan

Good-Bye to Cancer

Two weeks ago, I had a follow up appointment with the surgeon who performed my thyroidectomy and neck dissection, Dr. S.  He said the incision site on the side of my neck was still swollen some, and is healing.  That side of my neck is pretty numb- I get a “pins and needles” sensation when I touch it, but it doesn’t bother me.  Dr. S. said the entire incision is healing perfectly, and just as it should.  He examined my neck and throat area and said everything felt just like it should- translation: no new enlarged lymph nodes or nodules.

I informed him I had not had my thyroglobulin level tested since I completed radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy in August.  Dr. S. ordered the blood work and I left with the perscription in my hand for the test.  I was very happy everything seemed to be on track, but I knew the results of thyroglobulin test would be the true indicator if I was cancer free.

The type of thyroid cancer I had, papillary, produces elevated levels of thyroglobulin.  Before my surgery, Dr. S. told me a person with no cancer thyroglobulin’s level would be zero.  Mine before surgery, was 38!  Dr. S., said that was very high, and he had never seen a person my age with that high of a thyroglobulin level.  Before my RAI treatment in August, the endocrinologist measured my thyroglobulin level, and they were amazed to see it was down to 4!  They said it was very rare- almost impossible to get the thyroglobulin level that low, with just surgery.  They said a reading around 13-20 is more common.  This confirmed Dr. S., did an outstanding job on my surgery. 

I had no reason to feel anything but optimistic, assuming the RAI would have killed off any remaining cancer cells. Still, I couldn’t help but worry a little bit.  All those thoughts crept into my mind…all the what-if’s?  It didn’t help that I had to wait a week for the results- for some reason the lab was really slow in getting the bloodwork back. 

But last Thursday, on my 37th birthday, Dr. S’s office called with the results.  My thyroglobulin level was undetectable and surpressed.  The levels were perfect, and I am officially cancer free! 

I was beyond thrilled and happy!  As it sunk in, I got very emotional.  It had been six months from my first diagnosis to this news, but it has seemed at times, the longest journey of my life, and like I would never reach this point, or if I did reach it, I would never be quite the same again.  I thought back to when Dr. S. called me on a Saturday in April to tell me he was sorry, but the biopsy showed I had thyroid cancer, and how the second I hung up with him I cried, and didn’t stop for hours. 

That seemed like a lifetime ago.  Everything I have experienced- the tests, the cancer diagnosis, the uncertainty, the fear, finding out the cancer had spread,  the surgery, the time I lost with my children, the incision, the numbness in my neck, the medical mistakes that were made, the diet, the severe hypothyroidism, the medication, the days I could barely function- all of those things, brought me full circle and I am healthy again. 

I couldn’t wait to share the happy news with my family and friends- all those people who have been there for me through all of this.  And most of all, I couldn’t wait to tell the boys.  Ryan smiled and hugged me when I told him- he understands all of it- probably even more than I care to admit.  Cole does too, but he asked if that meant the doctor didn’t have to cut my neck open again. 🙂

It has occurred to me sometime in the past few days, that this is the end.  My cancer journey is over.  There will still be routine check-up’s to monitor my levels, but thankfully papillary cancer has a very high cure rate, and reoccurrence is very rare.  

I have shared my experience with thyroid cancer in part, because it was very hard for me to find real-life information on it when I was researching it.  Most of the medical information describes it as no big deal, more or less.  While that is true from a medical standpoint, this experience has been anything but “no big deal.”  I have categorized every time I have written about my cancer, under the Cancer topic (35 posts in all), and I hope what I have experienced, will help others in their research. 

I am amazed and touched by the e-mails I receive daily from other thyroid cancer patients and survivors- in every stage.   I’m shocked that so many people tell me they have learned more about thyroid cancer from my blog than from their doctors. So many of the patients are afraid- just like I was.  I hope the cancer posts will continue to help and inform.  I will try to continue to answer as many of the personal e-mails that I can.  I am brainstorming some ways I can offer more assistance personally, and locally to thyroid cancer patients. 

This is where my experience ends.  It has been a journey that has been one of the hardest for me, but also one that has taught me so much about myself and others, and one that will never leave me.   But for now, it is time for me to say good-bye to my cancer.

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Activities Cancer Family & Friends Health Me Mothering

Cancer’s Unexpected Blessings

“…experience will convince us that those things which at the time they happened we regarded as our greatest misfortunes have provided our greatest blessings.” ~ George Mason

Finding out you have cancer, or a health ailment is shocking.  It is like having a tornado rip your life apart.  It seems as if the foundation that your life is built on- your health- has been demolished.  It is one of the biggest trials a person can face.  In the initial stages, there are far more questions than answers.  You go into “survival mode,” doing what you need to do to get to the next day. 

While I was in this stage, I thought about almost everything- from surviving to dying.  One thought that did not cross my mind was the blessings that I would discover existed in my life. 

I have written in previous posts the overwhelming support I received from family and friends starting the day I found out I had cancer.  That has, and continues to be a source of strength and encouragement for me. 

Over the Fourth of July weekend, I received an e-mail from someone I didn’t know, and had never met, but who had been directed to my blog.  Her name was Jessica, and she told me we had a lot in common.  My first thought was it was a marketer trying to pitch something.  As I kept reading, Jessica told me she too, had thyroid cancer and she had surgery to remove her thyroid on the exact same day I did.  She shared her experience with her cancer and surgery with me.  She told me she lived in a town about 60 miles from me. Jessica has a three-year old daughter, who is about six months older than Cole. 

After I read Jessica’s e-mail, I remember sitting down, and feeling something switch in me.  I felt really happy.  Not because Jessica had cancer, but because there was someone else that felt the same way I did about cancer, and was going through almost the exact same thing I was.  Jessica had a great support system, as did I, but now we had each had someone else who was experiencing the same thing.  We didn’t have to explain anything to each other- we just knew.   

 We e-mailed each other during the next month to stay in touch.  When I was extremely hypothyroid, Jessica confirmed what had happened to me was not right, and she had been receiving Synthroid (the thyroid replacement hormone) since three days after her surgery. 

We discovered we were both scheduled for our radioactive iodine treatments (RAI) within days of each other.  Jessica started hers on a Friday, and I started mine the following Tuesday.  We both hated being quarantined and being away from our children for so long.  We told each other when we were both finally recovered and better we were going to meet and celebrate.

Jessica had some awful side effects from the RAI that lasted for a while.  One of which was her taste was completely gone for a month.  We both had our full body scans (to determine if the cancer had been contained) within days of each other in August.  We both received the news in the same week that we were cancer free!  

We will continue to have our six month check-ups at the same time, forever. We both did what we had to do to get healthy, but having Jessica’s support and friendship during this time was a blessing I never anticipated.  How many people are able to have a friend like this, at the exact time when they are needed?   Jessica is my cancer fighting partner in crime!  We were finally able to meet each other in person on Saturday.  

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Jessica and I

Cancer has taught me there are always unexpected blessings in life, no matter how bad, or shocking, or dire the situation is.  I thought cancer had shattered my health, my foundation.  Cancer and diseases can destroy health, and take away almost everything.  But they will never destroy fortitude, and the love that family and friends provide, and this is the real foundation in my life.

Blessings can be found in the most unexpected places, from the least expected sources.  They are there waiting to be found, sometimes hidden beneath the seemingly broken pieces.  It all depends on where you look.

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Activities Cancer Family & Friends Health Me Running

The Race for the Cure

On Sunday morning, I participated in my first running race ever.  It was the Denver Komen Race for the Cure.  If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, than you probably already know some of the details, but here are the rest:

I got up at 5am on Sunday, and my dad made me breakfast.  That was very nice, and he drove me to the race.  We got there at 6:30, and it was dark and cold!  The half hour went by fairly quickly- I stretched and ate a banana while I was waiting.  The sun was just coming up as 7am approached:

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My dad said he was going to go find the finish line and wait for me, so he wished me luck and we took this picture before he left:

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I lined up pretty close to the front of the starting line, and before I knew it, they were counting down to start.  I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but once the countdown hit 0, I started off, and pretty much got run over.  It didn’t seem like anyone was on a pace, at least from where I was.  Everyone was just running as fast as they could, full speed ahead.

People were running into me, and when a lady ran into me from behind with her baby stroller, I thought that was enough.  It seemed crazy.  I was near the sidewalk, so I stopped.  I stood on the sidewalk for a few minutes and let all these people run ahead.   I started again, and it was much better.  The course was uphill for the first mile.  I felt it in my shins and ankles some, but I slowed down just a bit, and concentrated on my breathing. 

I felt everything just come together, and and I found a really easy, comfortable pace and I was able to get my breathing in sync too.  I ran.  It felt great and freeing.  As I ran downhill after the first uphill mile, I  grabbed some water, and it spilled all over my hand and my jacket.  I had forgotten gloves and my hand were already cold- that didn’t help, but I didn’t think about it and kept running.

I was looking around at the neighbors that were out along the race route cheering everyone on, and I was enjoying the moment.  I noticed though, I started passing a lot of the people that had blown by me at the start.  I passed the lady that had hit me with her stroller, and I admit it- it felt good to pass her. 

The race seemed really short.  I knew we were getting to the last mile or so, and I tried to pull my jacket over my hands to keep them warm.  My jacket wasn’t long enough and my earphones got all messed up.  So I was running and fixing that, and as I ran down a hill, I saw the beginning of the runners- I knew I was in the first quarter of runners getting close to finishing.  The sun had come out from behind the clouds, so I got my earphones fixed, forgot about my cold hand, and put my sunglasses on.  I picked up the pace and started running faster.

The pace felt really good, and there was a surprise at the end- another steep hill.  I sped up again, and I passed a lot of people on this last hill.  I thought there was another half mile or so, but I turned to my right and saw my dad standing behind the median!  I called out to him, and waved.  He took this picture:

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I ran over to him and gave him a hug!  It was an emotional moment for me.  My dad helped me so much over the summer when I was sick and recovering from thyroid cancer and surgery.  He was there with me when I received the devastating news that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes, and I had to have a neck dissection.  He was there when I was too weak to take care of myself.  He was there to help me with my boys.  He had been there to help me prepare my low iodine foods.  He had been there for me at my absolute worse, and my weakest.  It was the best feeling to be able to have this moment with him.  I’ll never forget it.

I looked at the finish line and saw that they had a clock- I hadn’t officially finished the race yet!  But I didn’t care.  I was thrilled to see the clock said 36:25 minutes.  I had been standing there with my dad for at least a minute, and I had stopped for a few minutes at the start of the race.  I told my dad, I was going to go cross the finish line.    So my “official” time was 36:35, but if I hadn’t stopped the two times, I think I would have finished around 34 minutes.  Here’s a picture my dad took as soon as I finished:

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The time didn’t matter to me- I was just so happy I had been able to run the entire race, and finished it well under my goal of 40 minutes.  As my dad and I walked over the booths, he told me had just gotten to the median about 15 minutes before he saw me.  He said no one had finished yet, and he was standing next to a guy who said the first finishers would be coming soon.  Sure enough he said two guys came blazing by to be the first men to finish.  Then he said the first woman finished just behind them, and he said she was incredibly fast.  As soon as he said that, I just had a feeling it was my friend, Sonja.  I told her last week, I knew she was going to be the first woman to finish- she’s that good!

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I got some water and some food, and called Sonja. It turned out she was really close to where we were, and we found each other.  I asked her how her race went, and she said with a smile that she had won, she came in first for the women, her time was 20:40, and the news station interviewed her. She was able to talk about her friend, Amy’s breast cancer and explain why she had shaved her head two nights ago- to support Amy during her upcoming chemotherapy.

My dad told Sonja he had seen her finish, and he had no idea that she was the Sonja I kept telling him about. 🙂  I decided to stay and walk the mile race with Sonja, Amy, and more of their friends.  My dad left at that point, and as Sonja and I were walking towards the meeting place for the mile race, she was stopped several times by people who had seen her interviewed on the news. Here we are, waiting for the mile walk to begin:

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We walked the mile race with Amy, and a large group of Amy’s supporters.  As we finished the walk, we intersected with the 5k walkers and this is what I saw:

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It was remarkable and astounding to see that many people walking over I-25 (major highway in Denver) all for breast cancer.  I was not able to connect with Erika or my other friend, Nicole, but Nicole signed up for the run and ran the entire course as well!  We all accomplished our goals for the day, and that made it all the more special!

The entire experience for me was wonderful.  It was one of the best things I have ever done for myself.  I was walking around the rest of Sunday with a smile on my face, and I was smiling all day today.  My grandmother called me yesterday and congratulated me and told me how proud of me she was.  My entire family was very supportive, and to all my friends, Twitter friends, and Facebook friends, thank you for all the support and encouragement you gave me! 

Before the race, I fully expected to do this race and be done running.  I don’t have any plans at the moment, but I can say that I am not done running yet.  Besides, I just got new running shoes.  I can’t retire them until they are worn out. 

To be continued…

P.S.- Sonja is the guest blogger today at Mile High Mamas where she shares her story on her friend, Amy’s, breast cancer and her Race for the Cure experience.

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Activities Me Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday- Gore Mountains

It’s been a while since I have had a Wordless Wednesday, and I have been wanting to write a post about a few of the hiking/backpacking trips I have been on recently, and hope to soon!  For now, here is a picture of the Gore Mountain Range near Silverthorne, CO. 

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