Exercise: Prevention. Treatment. Survivorship

As cancers go, I now realize that not all cancers are the same...each type of cancer has its own symptoms, screening tests, prognosis, treatment, even awareness ribbon color. I was recently contacted by David Haas, a staff writer for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog.  (Mesothelioma is the cancer that forms in the protective lining of the lungs and abdomen. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos.) He asked if he could post an article on my blog about the benefits of exercise during and after cancer.  So contact from someone from the mesothelioma cancer community is almost like receiving a smoke signal from a different tribe. (I am from the Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma tribe, specifically the intermediate grade, large-B cell branch of the family.)

But all cancers are the same in that this disease makes the patient feel powerless. Exercise is one way to feel more in control of your body.  For me, exercise started after treatment.

During my chemotherapy treatment (R-CHOP for those who know the alphabet soup of chemotherapy), I was exhausted beyond belief.  I would collapse into bed with barely enough energy to lift my head.  I would wake up after hours of sleep and with STILL barely enough energy to lift my head. It was a type of fatigue like no other.  I would make myself laugh by saying, "I am so tired, I feel like I am on drugs...wait, I am on drugs!" I would sleep all day so that I could have at least a little energy to be with my daughter when she came home from school.  

Back on the wagon
with reward stickers for exercising

Now, 4 years out from my cancer treatment, I am determined to do everything in my power to prevent a relapse.  Eating right and exercise are now part of my lifestyle.  I have tried to frame exercise and nutrition as a type of medicinal intervention.   I want to prevent any mutant cells from returning and multiplying inside my body.  Of course, I fall off my exercise wagon (see calendar), but I get back on because I know exercise contributes to good health.

Benefits of Exercise For Cancer Patients 

by David Haas

After a person is diagnosed with cancer, the last thing on her mind may be exercise. But exercise has been shown to help considerably during treatment and once a patient enters remission. According to the National Cancer Institute, exercise during treatment helps to reduce feelings of fatigue in women with breast cancer, and improves overall quality of life.

Fitness and exercise are also connected to surviving cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. Women who walked for at least three hours a week were more likely to survive than women who did not exercise. Exercise has also shown a positive effect in people diagnosed with colon cancer, prostate cancer, or even a rare cancer like mesothelioma.

Even moderate exercise such as walking or gardening has a positive impact on patients with cancer. Physical activity lessens side effects such as tiredness and improves the level of energy a patient has. About half an hour of activity daily should be enough to reduce side effects and improve quality of life.

Exercise after a diagnosis of cancer or during and just after treatment can improve a patient's body image, which in turn improves her quality of life. Cancer changes the body dramatically. Some cancers cause a person to lose a lot of weight and muscle mass. Exercising will help to restore loss muscle and improve a patient's self image. Lifting weights or doing another form of resistance training will help cancer patients build muscle and strength during treatment. Breast cancer often causes a person to gain weight during treatment. Moderate exercise will help a patient prevent unwanted weight gain during and after treatment.

Staying physically fit by exercising has been shown to reduce the risk of developing certain cancers in the first place and to help cancer stay in remission. Since exercise helps regulate insulin levels and prevents heart disease, it is essential for staying well after cancer goes into remission. Exercising can help reduce a patient's risk of developing other cancers such as breast or colon cancer. Patients who began an exercise program after being diagnosed with colon cancer were less likely to have the cancer recur.

David Haas is a cancer patient advocate and staff writer for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog

Simple but not Simpler Art and Math

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy Oil on Canvas 1922




"Out of an infinity of designs, a mathematician chooses one pattern for beauty's sake and pulls it down to earth."     ---Marston Morse (1892-1977), IAS mathematician

As I read through a book on the history of the Institute for Advanced Study, I run across this quote above which captures my attention.  While my personal knowledge of math ends with Freshmen level "Calculus for Business," I immediately appreciate and understand this quote.  We have been living here at the Institute of Advanced Study for three months now.  As I walk from family housing passed Fuld Hall to join my husband for lunch, I imagine myself taking the same footpaths that Einstein or von Neumann or Oppenheimer or Godel might have taken.   I have come to realize that math research is a creative activity which produces abstract beauty. 

At the same time, we have had the good fortune of visiting my in-laws in New York City several times in this Fall. My mother-in-law introduced me to the Bauhaus approach to design. On our last visit, she generously gave me her collection of Bauhaus books (so she could buy new books).  So, I have also been pouring the history and designs of Gropius, Klee, Kandinsky, Albers and my favorite, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy.

I can't help but see a similarity between the the Institute of Advanced Study and The Bauhaus School of design in Germany (both a community communities focused on the advancement of original thought and art). One explicit connection is the fact that the IAS family housing (the apartment that we live in now) was designed by Bauhaus designer Marcel Breuer. 

Connections between math and art have been made before, but I see a relationship between the specific design values of the Bauhaus School and math: the clean simple, yet bold lines of Bauhaus (see Maholy-Nagy's image above) and the idea that mathematical creatives find bold, simple patterns to explain complexity. The aesthetic value of math is simplicity. In reference to math, Einstein famously said, "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler" ...which makes for a very good design principle as well. 

Antiquing in Pittsburgh

We spent this Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh with David's brother and parents.  Yesterday, my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and I decided it was time for some shopping pleasure. Here are some images from our antiquing adventure in Pittsburgh's Strip District. I like the juxtaposition of random, colorful, kitchy objects that seem rather whimsical when taken out of their original context.

On the 4th Anniversary.

Princeton Battlefield Park. 6:00 AM

This past Wednesday was the 4^th anniversary of my cancer diagnosis.  I am in remission now (perhaps complete remission).  I think about my cancer experience more than just one day a year, but I do use the yearly milestone to stop and collect my thoughts about my life as I move further and further away from October 26, 2008.

I still remember feeling like I only had months (weeks? days?) left.  With every friend that I lose to cancer, I still wonder why I am still around. As I start to see grey hair coming in, I try to remember that I once envied older people because they got to grow old.

I have become very, very intolerant of activities in my life that seem like a waste of time, that are meaningless.  Knowing that life is a gift that only lasts a brief moment, I have become a cruel editor….slashing whole paragraphs of activities that seem pointless, revising the professional aspects of my life that need more direction, more precision.  Demanding a thesis sentence that pulls my whole life together.  This is a hard way to live.  

Steve Jobs said in his commecment speech,  "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." 

He gave this message to an audience of young graduates looking for advice, but the reality is that it's hard to live a 'Steve Jobs' life. 

I must say that my family continues to ground me. I find so much satisfaction in the simple pleasures of home. While I often get frustrated and stressed about balancing my personal and professional life, my family is the metronome that gives me a regular and steady beat against the chaos and cacophony of work. At the end of the day (make that 'at the end of each day'), I kiss Emma goodnight and I see why I am still around. My family needs a mother, wife and daughter.  

As a result of reading several books on health and nutrition, we have made several lifestyle changes as a family. We are eating less meat and more fruits and veggies.  I have been sort of good about exercising, but I have fallen off my routine now since moving to Princeton.  I can't exercise on my treadmill in a closet like I used to in Austin. (I close my eyes. It's like meditation.)  I am very aware of the importance of sleep for good health, but I still struggle in that area. 

All of these lifestyle changes have made a difference on my health. My oncologist, internist and pulminologist were all very pleased with my last round of labs tests/CT scans.  Not knowing exactly why or how non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cells started multiplying in my liver, I try to give my body everything it needs to prevent them from returning. I am thankful that four years ago, we attacked these carcinogenic cells with the strongest, most powerful form of chemotherapy (Rituxan) cleared by the FDA.  I would do it again if necessary.

Princeton Battlefield Park 6:03 AM

Here is a quote that seems to make the rounds in survivor circles.  It summarizes how I feel about cancer survivorship.

"Cancer changes your life, often for the better. You learn what’s important, you learn to prioritize, and you learn not to waste your time. You tell people you love them. My friend Gilda Radner (who died of ovarian cancer in 1989 at age 42) used to say, ‘If it wasn’t for the downside, having cancer would be the best thing and everyone would want it.’ That’s true. If it wasn’t for the downside." ~Joel Siegel on American Morning, CNN, June 13, 2003 

Princeton's Underbelly

 

We are into our second month of our "Princeton adventure."  Like a friend who promised to write home everyday,  I have written many blog posts in my head.  Work (always work), setting up house, and finding the quickest route to Target are just some of the things that have kept me away from actually  writing an entry.

Yes, eventually I will explain how it feels like we are living in an academic kibbutz; how Einstein's legacy here at the Institute is very much alive; how the Gothic architecture of the Princeton campus make me feel like an extra in a Harry Potter movie; how I smile at ads for Harris Tweed Jackets in the local paper ("handwoven from Scotland!")....but right now, I am inspired to write about Princeton's underbelly....at least what I call the underbelly.

Holy Mother of all Garage Sales!  Did I find one of the best organized, best selection, best priced garage sale ever, right here in Princeton, New Jersey -- just a few blocks from the Princeton campus.

Every year, Princeton HealthCare (formerly the Auxiliary of the University Medical Center), sponsors a rummage sale on the first level of the hospital's parking garage. This year marked 93rd year of this annual event.  According to the coordinator, who I befriended, they start collecting items donated from the community in April.  Then three days before the event, they sort, label, and price. Volunteers do all the work and all the money goes to the hospital.

We arrived at the appointed start time, and the place was already packed.  Emma and I joined the frenzy of shoppers thumbing our way through old books, CD, clothing, housewares, toys, furniture, art, holiday items, linens, sporting goods, Grandma styled bric-a-brac, electronics, etc.

Truth be told, Emma didn't seem to enjoy the consumer carnival as much as I did. Here she is forcing a smile with my shopping treasures:  a $1 shovel (for the snow!) and a $2 rake.

 

Cruel Cruel Irony

The trees are dying in our front yard in Austin.  A few days before we left, a huge branch fell across the driveway. About this time, the leaves turned brown and dropped on the grass.  The leaves usually don't cover the front yard until the end of the year.  We called the arborist. Yes, It's the drought.  We had been watering with the sprinkler system according to Austin's 2-day a week restricted water schedule, but the arborist told us trees need deep, slow watering that mimics natural rainfall.

The arborist said many homes in Central Austin were losing their trees. He was going to be part of a public information campaign to educate homeowners about the special water needs of trees.

We went into New York City this Labor Day weekend to visit David's parents. On the train back to Princeton, my mom called from Austin to tell us of the devastating fires around Austin.  Yesterday, the fires in Bastrop made the cover of the New York Times. Odd to be so far away from Central Texas, yet see news from home on national media.  Like a refugee from a natural disaster, I have been pouring over every bit of news I can find...searching maps, local news sources, Facebook updates. My heart breaks as I read the news about the loss of homes around Austin.

The cruel irony is that it just won't stop raining here in New Jersey. News reports carry stories of continued flooding due to Tropical Storm Lee. We carry our umbrellas everywhere.  Flip flops are just not cutting it. We need to get some of those goofy looking rain boots. I lie awake at night and study the sound of the rain outside. It is all new: not just rain, but the sound of rain in this apartment.

Yesterday, I let Emma run and jump in all the rain puddles she could find. Splash away, sweet Emma.  Splash and splash and splash and splash. Let the rain water soak through your clothes and run inside your shoes. Feel the squishy feeling of your feet inside your rain soaked tennis shoes. With wild abandon, get your jeans wet and if you can, even your shirt.  And let me join you in this watery mess.

If I could only send some of this water back to Austin.