Tag: thyroid cancer

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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 Cancer Cole Family & Friends Health Running Ryan

Ready, Set, GO!

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I never thought I would be writing that I had fun preparing for the Komen Denver Race for the Cure.  I have never liked running- it was always my last choice for exercise.  I wrote previously why I decided to sign up to run my first ever race, and why I chose the Race for the Cure. 

On Thursday evening, following the advice of my triathlete friend, Sonja, I ran the last full 5k (3.2 miles) before the actual race on Sunday.  It was cold and windy, and I was dreading doing the run.  I wanted to just stay home and stay warm.   I bundled the boys up and we went to our trusty bike path / playground. They were immediately occupied by checking out all the debris that had been trapped by the tennis court fence, so I took off running. 

It was one of the best exercise sessions I have ever had.  I felt everything come together.  The last few times I have ran, I have gotten a cramp in my side almost the moment I started running.  I really concentrated on breathing, and there was no cramp.  Everything was in sync- my breathing, pacing, and body.  I can’t recall ever feeling like that before when running.  I finished the distance and felt like I could have kept going.  I knew I had run faster than normal and when I checked my time it had been 38 minutes- a personal best.  

While I was running, I was enjoying the moment and the feeling of everything coming together.  I knew I had done the work, and now it was time to just let it be.  I realized I was at a point that I didn’t think possible just two months ago while I was suffering from hypothyroidsm, recovering from thyroid cancer and surgery.  This is what I wrote on my blog on August 1: 

Today I had an exceptionally hard day- I just had no energy, and I mean none.  Sitting in a chair was making me tired. …I literally have to get through the days, hour by hour, because waking up and facing a whole day in its entirety is too overwhelming. I honestly don’t know how I am going to make it hour to hour, let alone an entire day. 

Reading that seems like it was a lifetime ago, and I am beyond happy that I am healthy enough again to meet this goal.  I feel at this point I have done everything I could have done to prepare, and some of Sonja’s pre-race advice was: “the training is done and the race is the reward, it’s the celebration. It’s your chance to thank your body for persevering through this last year.” 

To all my family, friends, and the boys’ family, thank you once more for helping me beat cancer.  I couldn’t have done it without all of you.  

Ryan and Cole were wonderful while I was running, and were great coaches!  They won’t be at the race, but I hope to have lots of pictures of it to share with them.  They told me several times that I must be feeling better since I was running so fast!  I am thrilled after they saw me so sick over the summer, they were able to see that illness doesn’t have to define you, and you can come back stronger than before. 

So on Sunday morning, I am going to put time and finishing out of my mind. I am going to enjoy the race, and celebrate the moment.  I beat cancer!  There isn’t anything left to say except ready, set, GO!

(Thanks to J., for the blog post title)

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Activities Cancer Cole Family & Friends Me Mothering Running Ryan

Preparing for the Race for the Cure

I have never “trained” for a race, and I hesitate to even use that word. Training sounds serious.  I like the word “preparing” better. 

Last week I was able to start preparing for the Race for the Cure, not at a gym, but at a local playground.  Now you see why I don’t really consider myself “training.” I don’t think serious runners train at a playground. Since I am not a serious runner, but a mom, who also has to watch two little boys most of the time,  while I prepare for the race, the playground is working out for us. 

The first time we went to the playground, the boys rode their scooters.  From our house, it was probably just under a mile.  I discovered there were two bike paths at the park.  The first one was probably not more than half a mile around. The boys did great following me on their scooters as I ran.  

I liked the path, but after four times around, (with breaks), the boys were getting tired, so I decided to take them up to the playground above this first path.  There is a much smaller path I could run on, while the boys played at the playground.  Here it is: (can you hear Eye of the Tiger playing right now?)

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I am guessing this path is probably not more than a quarter mile around.  Since I am not a serious runner and am not training, I don’t have any fancy GPS running watches, or anything like that.  The best feature of this path was the boys were occupied on the playground (they are on the red climbing thing):

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I ran around this path about seven times.  The boys were exhausted by the time we got home- they still had to ride their scooters home. 

On Thursday evening, I figured out that if we drove to the park, the boys could play much longer, and wouldn’t be so tired, which would mean more running time for me!  It worked really well.  They started getting really into it, and would stop playing every time I ran by the playground.  They would stand there, and hold out their hands for me to high five them.  Ryan ran around with me on the path a few times.  I told them I would get them some whistles, so they could be proper coaches. 

I followed the advice Sonja had given me and didn’t try to run fast at all.  I had a lot more energy, and I didn’t get tired and have to walk any of the path.  I ended up running 20 laps.  I ran for thirty-five minutes.  I wasn’t sure how close I was getting to 3 miles, I figured I was at least in the ball-park.

On Friday night, the boys and I went to my dad’s house in Denver to spend the night.  While they were roasting marshmallows, I went on a run.  My dad told me where my sister used to live from his house, was 1.2 miles.  If  I could run there and back, I would be just under 2.5 miles. 

I started to run, and felt great. I had to tell myself to slow down and not run too fast.  I must have had a really good pace because I felt like I could have kept running.  I reached my sister’s old house.  I thought about going a few more blocks, so I could be really close to 3 miles, but it was getting dark, and I wasn’t in an area I was really familiar with.  I headed back to my dad’s.  I only stopped once, and it was to take this picture on the Washington St. Bridge right above I-25:

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About two blocks away from my dad’s house, I started to get tired.  But I was also excited that I had been able to go so far, and realized that I would actually be able to run the 3 miles for the race!  When I got back, I had run 2.4 miles in 35 minutes.  I figured I could do 3 miles in 45 minutes.

On Saturday, my knees and hips hurt!  Running on concrete will do that. Plus, I had been running in really, really, old tennis shoes.  I think they are at least five years old.  I decided even though I am not training, I wasn’t going to spend a fortune on new shoes, but it was time for a pair of actual running shoes.  Here is a old shoe-new shoe picture: (it shouldn’t be too hard to guess which are the old shoes 🙂 )

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Yesterday evening, the boys went to their dad’s house, so it was the first time I was able to time myself, and see how far I could run.  I had measured the distance in the car and measured 1.5 miles from my house.  I wore my new shoes, and it took me a few minutes to get used to them.  I also started feeling really sluggish as I started off.  I couldn’t really find a rhythm.  I was running faster than I wanted to, and had to force myself to slow down several times.

At 1.4 miles, everything started to click.  I reached the 1.5 mile point, and turned around to run home.  I didn’t check to see what kind of pace I was on.  At 2.5 miles, I just sped up.  I felt really good, and decided to run faster.  A car came up behind me that I had seen, and I ran off to the side of the road.  At the last second, (and I mean second) I saw this HUGE hole. I had to leap to get across it, and I just barely cleared it. 

I felt a surge of energy and ran faster until I got to my house.  I looked at the time, and even with starting off slow, having to run off to the side of the road every time a car came, and the dodging-the-hole-episode,  I was thrilled to see that I had ran the 3 miles in 41 minutes!  I was also happy that I didn’t have to stop and walk any of it.   

Race day is in 13 days, and I feel very confident where I am right now.  I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to run/walk 3 miles.  I am going to set a time goal. If I can run the entire distance, and if I can do it in under 40 minutes, then the training preparation will have paid off.

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Activities Cancer Family & Friends Health Mothering

Celebrating Life

In April I found out that I had thyroid cancer.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, than you know I wrote a number of posts chronicling my experience with thyroid cancer during the past eight months. 

The doctors can tell you when you are done with treatment.  They tell you when you have made the physical shift from a cancer patient to a cancer survivor.  But they can’t tell you when the mental shift will happen-that you can now get out of cancer patient mode, and get back to your life.  

It was important for me to take a series of smaller steps, to get myself mentally out of the cancer patient mode.  I started doing more activities with Ryan and Cole that took us out of the house like going camping, to the zoo and to parks. I have had quality time with my family- all of us together and also spending time with individual family members.  I started exercising and doing activities again like hiking and riding my bike.  As I did these things, I could feel the mental shift happen. 

One step that I had not had an opportunity to do was spend time with my friends.  We all became friends around the time when our first children were born.  We would have playgroups, craft nights, and mom’s nights out together. 

As our children grow, our activities have changed, and we have all become busier.  The time we have to spend with each other has diminished.  But this summer, they put their own families and lives on hold to help me.  They didn’t ask me what I needed- they just did it.  They did everything from cooking meals, to doing housework, yard work, offering childcare, stopping by to say hi, to just being there for me, and offering their support.  Not a day went by that I didn’t hear from one of them- either by phone, e-mail, or cards. 

So when Mile High Mamas, announced they were having a social media event with Mom it Forward at the Warwick Hotel in Denver, last Thursday night, my friends and I were exctied for the night out.  I was also happy that we could spend some time together.  Below is myself with some of my terrific friends, Nicole, Alison, Melissa, Amy, and Julie. 

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Photo credit Amy

The event was a lot of fun, with wonderful appetizers and a wine tasting.  I was touched by several women, who when read my name tag, gave me a hug and told me they had been following my cancer journey, and offered their support.   Several blog posts have been written about the evening- you can read Amy’s, Aimee’s or Amber’s posts for more information (and pictures) on the event itself.

As we were getting ready to leave, the Warwick staff invited us to see the only rooftop pool in Denver, that just happened to be on their roof!   We put our feet in, and that soon turned into splashing, which turned into two of the women, Aimee, and Jyl, jumping in the pool, fully clothed for a swim. 

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They looked like they were having a great time, and as I watched them swimming around, I decided that I was going to go for a swim myself.  It would be the perfect way to remember the evening. 

Julie was ready as well so we grabbed hands, and took the plunge!

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Photo credit Aimee

Shortly after, Amy and Alison joined in too. We were silly, laughing, and having fun. 

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Photo credit Aimee

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Photo credit Amy

The evening was about fun and friends, but also for me, it was a way for me to mark the end of being a cancer patient, and celebrating life with amazing women that are my friends. 

As I jumped into that pool, the shift was completed. I have returned back to my life- healthy and strong.

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Cancer Family & Friends Health

Thyroid Cancer- Body Scan Results

I received the results to my full body scan on Wednesday- and it is very positive.  My doctor said the scan was clear- the only place cancer cells were still showing up at, were in my neck.  But she said this was expected because surgery alone can’t remove every cancer cell. She said the radioactive iodine will continue to work over the next few weeks, and I will have another blood draw in about a month to measure my thyroglobulin level. 

The thyroglobulin level measures cancerous thyroid tissue in the body.  For someone who doesn’t have thyroid cancer, that level will be at zero.  Before my surgery my level was at 38!  My surgeon said that was very high, and he said it was unusual for the level to be that high.  That translated into I had a lot of cancerous thyroid tissue.  Yesterday the doctor told me what my level is now, just taking the surgery into account, and it is down to 4!   She said it was rare that the thyroglobulin level drops that much just from the surgery.  She said the surgeon did a remarkable and thorough surgery.

So in a month, when I have the level tested again, it will be after the radioactive iodine has had a chance to work so the thyroglobulin level should be even lower.  My doctor said everything else looked great- there was no traces of any cancer elsewhere in my body.

For now, I can take a deep breath and relax a bit.  I am pretty much cancer free, and have an excellent prognosis of remaining cancer free.  It seems a bit surreal, but I’ll take it.  I still have to have my thyroid replacement hormone dosage tested in a few weeks, and twice a year check-ups to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned.  My shoulder is still recovering from the surgery, but I am through the worst part of it, and am so happy the prognosis is so positive.  I couldn’t have asked for better news.

Thanks once more for all the support, prayers, kind comments and e-mails, well-wishes, and love.  I wouldn’t have made it this far without them.  Again, thank you to all my family and friends, who put their lives on hold to help me during these last few months.    I am looking forward to getting my life back to normal, and celebrating with all my family and friends in the coming months.   

One of these celebrations will be very special.  I never thought by sharing my experience on my blog, it would lead another mom to me who underwent thyroid cancer surgery the same day as I did, who had the same recovery time, who underwent radioactive iodine treatment at the same time, who lives about an hour away from me, and who has also been given a clean bill of health.  This is my cancer-fighting partner in crime, and we are finally going to be meeting each other soon, and celebrating that we helped each other beat cancer. 

This weekend the boys and I are going camping with my family- grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  The last time we were all together was when I was in the hospital during my surgery.  It will be great to put that chapter behind us, and and start a new one- cancer free.