Stage IV Weightlifter

3c with 6 months of opvido , 240 mg 2x a month. i ride a mountain bike pretty intensively 3-4 times a week for an hour or so. 800 caloires , hi heart rate.

no problems.

Hi J;
Not sure if you are new to the board, but reading the posts that I do for the last few years, there are many who exercise pretty hard during and after treatments I think part of that is individual, some have much higher tumor burdens affecting their quality of life more than others. I can say for myself, I did not have intense workouts, but worked steadily throughout my treatments and now that I am NED I am in the pool (aquafit training) 5-6 times a week. I am in better shape now than I have been in years. I want to have my body prepared if I need to start ramping up the fight again! Sounds like you are whipping cancers butt! Way to go!!!!
Ted

Hi Jane. Sorry for all you are dealing with. It definitely sounds like you are living large and giving melanoma a real go!!!! I was diagnosed with Stage IIIb melanoma when my kids were 10 and 12 and I was in grad school, in 2003. No valid treatments available other than surgery – so I pressed on. Given that, I progressed to Stage IV with brain and lung mets in 2010. Surgery to lung, SRS to brain. Still NO systemic therapies FDA approved – BUT – in late 2010 I got a place in a phase 1 trial for the drug now known as Opdivo. I took it for 2 1/2 years, last dose in June of 2013 and remain NED for melanoma with no further treatment. I have always been a health proponent, exercised, and healthy eater – BEFORE melanoma – and after. My blog is filled with lots of stories of how bad I felt given the fatigue, rashes, joint pain, wheezing and mucositis I experienced during my trial and for some years after. I have researched most all things melanoma in the past 10 years – including supplements, alternative meds, etc – you can use the search bubble if you are interested. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet or pill or food that will make the side effects of immunotherapy or targeted therapy go away. Those with significant side effects may have to take a drug holiday or medications like steroids. However, if you are tolerating your therapy okay – the biggest help I found was ibuprofen and attitude. Like the Nike ad – JUST DO IT!!!! That said, some folks suffer more debilitation from both melanoma and therapy than I did and are not as able – so I was lucky. I worked full time through my therapy – missing only 3 days in those years and continued to run, hike, and do the exercise I had done previously. Admittedly there were plenty of days where I was SLOW AF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, I got her done! You might check posts here by Edwin for inspo. He is incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is a 70 plus year young beast – continuing to run through keytruda, ipi/nivo, radiation, bone pain – a real inspiration!!!!

You can do this. I wish there was some brilliant solution. Mostly, live the healthy life style it sounds as though you always have. Continue to to the things you love, including weight lifting. Give yourself a break when you need. Hug those kiddos.

One word of caution: Be sure your docs are aware of all the supplements you take. You made find these reports interesting:
https://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2016/05/combining-alternative-and-conventional.html
https://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2018/04/alkaline-diets-and-complementary.html

Though this may sound contrary to the message my post may have sent, we have learned a great deal about the need for a healthy gut generally and in cancer treatment in particular. Here are a zillion articles: https://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/search?q=microbiome
The only caveat here is that the road to an improved gut needs to come from foods – like kimchi, buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, etc – NOT from probiotics in a bottle. There are articles included here that address that.

Hope this helps. I wish you my best. Celeste