The Answer

I posted a photo on Instagram yesterday with the caption, "A lot of people ask me, "How's Kim?" She's good, very good, thanks." 

But it turns out that a lot of folks would like to know a little more than this. Kim just passed over 11 months since her diagnosis and she's doing very well. She's been riding her bike to and from work, (Hey, the sun is out in Portland and that helps a lot), and is energized about the summer ahead.

We'd heard that her hair would come back and very likely in a different way. It's hard to say what color her hair is because she dyed it violet red a few weeks ago once the peach fuzz began to grow longer and curl.  Nearly everyone who has been through the process says that chemotherapy changes hair to curly and Kim's hair is much curlier than before. The one surprise for me has been how fine and soft it is. Some people had told us that it would be much coarser than before but her hair is incredibly soft. Those curls on the back are luxurious. Kim says that her longer hair often tickles her neck or her ears as she rediscovers life with her own hair again. Now that the heat has come to Portland I'd say she appreciates having short hair.

One of the highlights of Kim's day is just before bed when she can finally take her "squeezies" off. Her squeezies are her bra and an arm sleeve she's been wearing to help with nerve pain and numbness related to lymphedema. She didn't experience significant side effects from the lumpectomy, like neuropathy, though she does have numbness and pain. She credits acupuncture with preventing the neuropathy and she's worked diligently with her PT to get her mobility back. The pain is slowly going away and we both credit exercise in accelerating that process. She still has limited range of movement due to scar tissue though I'd bet a summer of activity will help improve that.

She began wearing the arm sleeve on her left arm just over two months ago. Her first sleeve was a plain tan and I was shocked when she told me it was over $110. (You can get two pair of Rapha arm warmers for that!) Bike joke... But seriously, with all the work in athletic apparel design you'd think there's better stuff, with better design, and for much less than this. 

She found another one a few weeks ago that had a much nicer feel and design.

Every once in a while I call her The Answer

She's wearing the sleeves with less frequency and expects to be done with them in the next few weeks. The heat adds to her desire to stop wearing them and it's likely she'll be done with the sleeves by her one year anniversary of the diagnosis, July 19th.

Now, the big news, Kim is running the Hood to Coast relay with a team from work in late August. It's a 200-mile team relay race from Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood to Seaside, Oregon. Running is still difficult for her. Her scar tissue hurts and, like me, she's dealing with some knee issues. But she's motivated by a challenge and she really likes the people where she works. Both Kim and I appreciate that they believe in her enough to invite her onto the squad. She's nervous but the challenge is inspiring and, again, she has great respect for the folks that invited her to run. It's hard to get her to run when all she wants to do is ride her bike but great strides (ahem) are being made.

Here's to summer.

Radiation - One Month In

One month of radiation treatment is in the books. 20 days of external beam radiation therapy treatment and 10 to go. The finish line, (if there is one), feels close. Kim has settled into a nice routine of getting up early and out the door by 7:20 in order to arrive, change, and be ready for her 7:45 appointment. There's been a nice, elderly man who has the appointment slot just after her and they have a fun little battle going to see who can be ready to go first. The plan to start the day with treatment has worked out really well as Kim gets to work early and has a full, uninterrupted day to work and then relax at home.

Uninterrupted. Huh, hardly. There's still the occasional doctor's appointment here and there and some days she just can't seem to get a break from having to be two places at once. Sure, the treatments are invasive but the time going to and from appointments, not to mention the waiting, is a drag. 10 days...

It's an easy process, though, and she's at the radiation therapy center for no more than 30 minutes total. She walks in, grabs a gown, changes in a private room, and locks her clothes in a locker. She'll sit in the patient's waiting room for just a few minutes having to endure the brainless nonsense that is morning news shows on the TV in the room. The nurse comes to get her and it's a short walk to the room with the linear accelerator. The door is incredibly thick and we're told the surrounding walls are six feet thick concrete. It's a cozy feeling room despite the big machine and lots of cool stuff to look at.

She lays down while technicians line up the machine using small tattoo marks on her chest. Once she's set, it's just a few minutes of radiation time. The doctors have done well to protect her heart from radiation and the treatment area is only as large as it needs to be. Incredible technological and human processing power at work. And everyone in the center is just so fantastically nice. Every single day at 7:45 AM.

Kim pops out, changes back into her clothes, and walks out, off to work. Simple as that.

So far she has not experienced any significant side effects. Her skin is sensitive on that side of her chest and upper arm and she says it's the feeling of a sunburn though there's no evidence on the outside. She only has a few shirts she can wear right now against her skin and we all do our best to touch this area when we hug her. She's been so incredibly tough through this entire ordeal. Now, we're told that two weeks after radiation therapy ends that she will experience fatigue so we'll keep an eye out for that.

My favorite course on Zwift, the 2015 World Championship Course
in Richmond, Virginia. Kim is climbing Libby Hill here. 

Following surgery recovery Kim talked about joining a gym and we had some long talks about the practicality of doing so. Exercise is key to recovery but gyms just do not seem to work out for most people. So Kim and I discussed another option, her bicycle. Now, her arm hurt and she couldn't use it for riding on roads or trails plus she was fearful of falling on it. We've also just completed the rainiest February in Portland history. So she's ridden a trainer indoors.

This is not the same old noisy trainer set up in the garage that induces boredom in five minutes. We invested in a smart trainer, the Wahoo KICKR specifically. Smart trainers use power meters and bluetooth technology that connect your bicycle to devices running cycling simulation training apps. In our case, we have a trainer in the basement, our own bikes installed, and an iPad on a table in front of the bike. We've both been signed up for Zwift for a month now and it's been great. Kim was hesitant on her first session but once she warmed up the fire came alive. Not only has Kim been able to increase her overall fitness using this system, she's had fun, she looks forward to riding, and I believe the increased blood flow and endorphins have accelerated her arm recovery. What I believe she will really love is the fitness she starts Spring with. That will be a big mental boost to kick off a season outdoors.

Give Cancer The Bird!

A recent study confirms the importance of regular exercise to increased survivability for those recovering from breast cancer.  I doubt that the gym would have had the same result and best of all, she gets to ride at home. No aggravating drive to and from the gym. Andrew and Jason often practice music while she rides and it makes for some great time together on these dreary days. Sometimes I think they pick up the tempo just to get one of sweating more. It's been great for both of us.

Hit me up if you have any questions about the trainer or Zwift, I'm happy to offer my opinion and advice.

I'm going to ask Kim to write something soon on how she's feeling because, for me and the kids, she has been as normal as ever. The wig is even gone now and she has a really cool hairstyle going on. We went out to a friend's party at a bar two nights ago and she got lots of compliments on her hair. She looks really cool with short hair. Now, if only the weather would warm up a touch so she could go without a hat for a while. Come on spring, you can do it!

There's always heated blankets. Yes!

10 to go, sweetheart, hang in there!

A confession, I've not been getting up early with Kim over the past two weeks. I want to but I don't. I stay up late most nights now either reading magazines or stuff online. I worry. I worry about Kim, my kids, my job, life, all of it. I worry if I'm gonna go crazy from this weather and how much I miss mountain biking regularly. I worry that I want to move right now to anywhere that's not here and that I'm not shy about saying that aloud these days. It worries the kids when they hear that, they like it here. I worry that I'm likely out of ideas. I worry most of all about missing lay ups. Why did I miss so many open shots tonight?!? I try to cover up the worry with learning about new things or reading but it doesn't always work and I stay up way too late. And so I make up for it with that extra time in the morning. Andrew is up early for school so he makes coffee for Kim and they hang out for a bit. He's out the door at 6:55 each day. As I type this it's 12:37 AM and I've still not taken a shower since getting home from basketball around 10:45. Still gotta do that. I want to be the guy that goes to bed early but I just can't. FOMO. Fear of missing out.

Radiation

Ugh, been a while. Sorry, folks, I've taken about a month off from this blog and it's mostly just been to act like everything is back to normal. Just needed a break from it. Back at it today as this morning is Day One of radiation therapy. In total Kim will have 30 sessions spread out over the next 6 weeks. It's a bit of a long haul but it feels like the fourth quarter so the end is in sight. Time to finish strong.

Here's where we are now. Kim had surgery on December 15th and has been slowly recovering. She's been diligent about her physical therapy, her exercises, and taking overall good care of herself. She moves better and better each day but she is in constant pain. The doctors aren't sure if it's nerve related due to the fact that she's sleeping only on one side and over compensating for the one side or if it's residual neuropathy. No matter, her arm hurts a lot most of the day. Even the clothing on her skin by her wrist is painful. She complains very little but nearly five weeks of pain has taken a toll. I try to offer some comfort though massage isn't all that helpful. Mostly I just try to be a dork and distract her from it. I'm good at that, Dr Dork.

Acupuncture has provided some relief and I'll bet the slight change to warmer days will be well received, too. We could all use a break from the cold. Her arm pain has kept her off the bike and limited exercise overall though tomorrow we hope to get her onto an indoor bike trainer and work on some fitness. She says that walking and light exercise help her arm to feel slightly better so the hope is to move some blood through her system and get those exercise endorphins doing their thing. I only have to help now and then with sweaters on and off though carrying bags, lifting things, and reaching up into cabinets is still difficult if not impossible.

But I do feel as though a breakthrough is imminent. Therapy, exercise, warmer temperatures, and a return to normal life will converge into relief from this nagging arm pain. Now, speaking about normal life, her hair is growing back. Like, really fast. It was just about a week-and-a-half ago that she took off her pink wig and her scalp looked really dark. I investigated and discovered that it was hair poking through. A few days later and it was sprouting out. About a week after that she had the tiniest case of bed head you've ever seen. Today it's got a pretty even growth overall and is starting to lay down just a bit. It's still a buzz cut and very much in the Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Alien 3 or Demi Moore in G. I. Jane though it damn sure looks like a hairstyle someone would choose. I think she could walk out of the house any time now and fit right in. Again, we'll miss the pink wig but Kim is ready to be done with it. It's still a little too cold out for her to go out without the wig or a hat but she looks really good. And so far the hair growing in seems to be the same color and type as before. There's been talk that it may come back curly so we'll keep everyone updated. Amazing how quickly it's coming back.

Kim has been taking Glutamine supplements since the start of her chemotherapy treatments to reduce the severity of mucositis and neuropathy. Mucositis is the painful inflammation of the mucous membranes in the digestive tract and radiation is a further cause of the condition.  Oral mucositis is also a common side effect though Kim has only experienced the digestive tract side effects. She's been mixing in a scoop of powder with some cereal and almond milk three times daily but is now down to just one. Research has shown that this supplement provides relief from symptoms of chest radiation so she'll stay on glutamine through the end of the treatment. Further new research also shows that honey is a great natural therapy to precent side effects from chemotherapy and radiation induced mucositis. Some other side effects she's prepared for are skin irritation, fatigue, and further lymphedema. Her doctors are on top  of everything and we'll keep an eye on things.

Kim's nutritionist mentioned that her pink wig served to inspire a new patient of hers. The woman is a young mom and didn't want to frighten her children with her hair loss or the sudden appearance of a new wig. Kim's success with the pink wig and how she let the kids be part of the selection process inspired this woman to do the same. It allowed for a calm transition for the family and now the wig is a fun part of the process. I'm gonna miss that pink wig and the light it shined amidst all this darkness though I am excited to see Kim's new curly, golden locks.

Kim's radiation schedule will be every morning at 7:30 AM. It's a really early start but we chose this time on the advice of several people in the process. First, it's great to get it out of the way and still have a full day ahead with no running around. Next, being first into the clinic means they are on time and ready to go. Kim has already been in for her set up so the visits will be quick in-and-outs allowing her to get to work even a bit early. Plus, there's no other patients jamming up the system in front of you. Kim and I made the choice for this early time together knowing that it would inspire us both to be on top of our days early. We'll get up, make a good breakfast, and begin our days even earlier than usual. By the time 6 weeks have passed we'll have a routine in place to make the most of those early spring days.

Thank you for allowing the long break, we're back on schedule. Hair we go...