[quote=Bart]Hi Rich, welcome from another fitness freak. My recommendation to you is to keep to your workout schedule to the maximum extent possible while you go through your treatments.

I know it's counter-intuitive, I firmly believe (from my onw experience) that by keeping your metabolism elevated, it helps the body avoid the worst of the physical symptoms (mainly nausea) and allows the body to quickly metabolize and excrete the excess.

I had 8 weeks of rads, concurrent with three applications of Cisplatin. Unfortunately, I had a mediport implanted before beginning the chemo, and then I had to wait 6 weeks after the Treatments for a PET, meaning I couldn't even schedule the removal of the port until after the results showed no sign of active cancer. That kept me from working out for a total of 6 months.

I wasn't bothered by the radiation, but the chemo made me so nauseated I couldn't keep more than a single bottle of Ensure in my stomach, and lost 38 lbs (from a very solid 192, down to an emaciated 154.)

However, as soon as possible after the removal of the port, I got back into the gym and started working hard to rebuild my body. When a distant metastasis was discovered in my liver 18 months later, it was treated with Carboplatin and Taxol/Taxetere in 4 week cycles (3 weeks of one infusion/week, with the last week free.) During this treatment, I never skipped a day in the gym, and I never felt any nausea. Do the math. Keep working out, you'll thank me. [/quote]

Bart,

Thank you for this. This is an amazing thing for me to read and take hope from. I had planned to work out as much as possible and you have confirmed what I thought that it can help you heal so much faster or at least just make you feel better emotionally.

Interesting that you say that you weren't bothered by the radiation. That's all I'm having for now (they may do chemo at the end, but all doctors think it unlikely). Did you do anything special from that standpoint that you think helped?

Stay strong brother and keep inspiring people.