this is probably a complicated question, but I’m looking for advice on how to be active and stay active well fighting this cancer. I am 52 years old and up until less than a year ago, I had been very active, running a few miles or riding a stationary bike, several times a week and also lifting weights. I still work and I’m still raising my teenage boys and visiting my daughter in college at the beach where I would boogie board with her multiple times each summer. Seven months ago I had surgery to repair a fracture in my femoral neck and I have not been the same since. I did not have hip replacement, and I can’t remember the official name, but a rod was inserted in my right femur a large screw was inserted in my femoral neck to repair the fracture with another screw in the middle of my femur to hold the rod in place. I have just started Pluvicto , had my first infusion October 9 so it’s too early to say if it is working but my latest PSMA pet scan showed most of the activity lighting up all throughout my right hip and upper right thigh where I had the surgery. I was active through chemo and all of the other treatments, Provenge , hormone shots, etc. according to my orthopedic surgeon, the hip has healed and both my cancer doctor At Duke as well as the orthopedic surgeon encourage me to be active, but even a simple 1 mile walk makes my upper thigh ache for days. I obviously don’t run at least now, but walking and or riding the stationary bike, as well as some stretches, seem to flare up my upper thigh where there is active cancer showing on the scans. The only thing I haven’t tried is swimming, but I really don’t want to be inactive. Has anybody had anything similar to this and if so, how did you deal with it?
And the cancer is just in my bones, it has only showed in my bones from day, one on all my scans. And I’ve been getting Xgeva shots for a year.
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I recommend trying a rowing machine. Besides being a great cardio exercise, it works the entire body when done properly. It even helps with maintaining bone density due to the muscle contractions. I just think rowing is a great exercise.
No problem. If you get the leg pain issue resolve, my next suggestion is look into Rucking. It's basically hiking or walking with a weighted pack. I started Rucking this year in preparation for my Pyrenees Hiking trip and liked it so much that I still do it at least once a week.
Our experience is so similar other than my being a bit older. Metastatic castration resistand bones mostly and a couple of lymph nodes. Had what might be a pathological fracture to femur. Rods screws and all that.
Did some chemo but did not do too much. Started pluvicto but had to pause it back on it again. At time I am so exhausted that i just feel like sleeping but i force myself to get at least some fun stuff done.
I used to get most of my exercise riding my bike in the mountains. Graduated to e assist when I could no longer make it up my driveway. Walking is still painful and I can definitely not walk a mile without pain.
I bought a recumbent e assist trike and am loving it. I biked over 5 miles today on very steep roads with one of my dogs. Virtually no knee or leg pain. If i had walked that far I would be in pain and have to recover for days. The trike is very comfortable, little risk of falling and low impact. My orthopedic surgeon said no to the trike but he didn't understand that before my broken leg was healed, i could use just my good leg and let the bad one go along for the ride and get a little PT. I use clips so i can both push and pull with the good leg. However now I fell that I am not damaging the bad leg by using it too but with less force. In a few days i have an xray and appointment with the surgeon and will see if i did any damage.
The last pluvicto seems to have made several of my bone lesions more painful???
I will look into a trike. I am not familiar with them but willing to do whatever I can to stay active. Best of luck to you and I hope your x-rays are good. Thank you!
there are trikes and there are trikes. i have been a cycling enthusiast since before i could walk. To take over for my very nice e-assist upright bike i did a fair amount of research while in the hospital recovering from a double fracture of my femur. I actually bought the trike while in the hospital but could not ride it for a couple of months. I think i got a good deal but did not "steal" it. It is very lightly used and has a retail price of over $5000 with the Bosch assist system. I paid $2500 Here is a link to what I have. This might be a good deal. I wanted something a little different due to my extreme steep gravely roads. Mine is actually a Pambler in honor of the previous owner named Pam who died of cancer.
Are you on any cancer treatment steroids such as prednisolone? That can really take the edge off the pain and could springboard you to where you want to be in terms of exercise.
I wonder if your pain is muscular because of lack of use and inflammation set in from you trying to pickup where you left off but your body is having a hard time relieving without help. There is a lot of advise out there about what exercises to do but if you are hurting and in even more pain when you exercise (I have been there), it kills our motivation to exercise. I went to my pain dr and explained my hip pain , he said it was ok even if I have had or have cancer (but do your research and ask you dr first). When I'm hurting and quit exercising because of pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks I get a steroid shot. If you can pinpoint where it hurts they can likely help. They will then give specific exercises to help recovery . Get your body fat % down and muscle mass up and you will start feeling better quickly . I'm not giving medical advice, I am just a patient who has been there and is there. JJ
The aches and pain always come after any workout/activity. Whether it is walking, riding a stationary bike or doing PT exercises, the pain comes later that day or the days following. During my workout routines, I feel pretty good other than my hip not feeling 100% from the surgery.
I'm not sure how your doing dips but when I'm doing dips I'm working my chest, triceps, shoulders and core. Probably explains why you now have shoulder issues and I don't
Those exercises are very different. They’re both very good for you. Any argument about which is better is pointless, and I regret participating in that. Enjoy your day!
You're the one who feels the need to respond to every workout post. I was only ribbing jac_j. And you're right, they are 2 different body weight exercises that work completely different sets of muscle groups.
have you been back to the orthopedist? When the neck of the femur breaks it can disrupt the blood supply to the femoral head and it can die. What does he/she says about your pain. Thinking the PMsA staining is all a reaction to the trauma not cancer but it is hard to be sure. Seems like cycling should be possible. Love that you are not giving up.
I had a CT scan with contrast of my hip/femur (ordered by the orthopedic surgeon) a few months ago as I felt like things were not healing properly. The scan showed everything intact and the bone healed. It also showed no new lesions. The following month is when I had the PSMA PET scan and that along with a rising PSA (2.1, 3.1, 6.1, 10.34 over 4 months) that it was determined the cancer was progressing and it was time for Pluvicto.
do they think the cancer is in the hip. It is a tough call as trauma and fractures also lights up. If so then that might explain your pain. Hopefully pluvico works but if not there is a drug in Europe called osteodex that looked really good a killing bone Mets. Might be worth looking into.
You're going to have aches and pains sounds like, no matter what you do. Get a qualified, medically trained physical therapist, not a personal trainer. Laws vary by state; in TX, apparently, a doctor has to evaluate you first or insurance will pay for only two PT sessions.
Expect the PT to listen to you and to give you exercises you can do. Go back as frequently as necessary but do the recommended exercises. Ask questions.
Thank you. I've done that as well. My PT is great, and I have been diligent in doing the stretches/exercises for my hips. Ultimately I think the upper femur bone pain is the cancer and hopefully pluvicto can help that. After 1 treatment, it has not. The other soreness from my hip/groin is probably both active cancer/scar tissue from the surgery that just is not getting better.....yet anyway.
Lots of good options in the replies. Find the ones that don’t hurt and do them. Try them all. Test run the ones you can, such as the rower, before buying anything. Then find the ones you are most willing to do and do more. Then more still! The hip will follow.
I had a replacement 9 years ago and it hurts sometimes sure. I switch up my routines often, we all should. Never the same thing every day!
Yoga/stretching should accompany whatever you choose.
Just don’t stop moving for any extended length of time no matter what. Extended inactivity at our age is poisonous.
i have had a hip replacement and I could use another but that is where my cancer is. The socket is all cancer. Makes a replacement only a 50-50 chance of working so I’m not doing it. I take Diclofenac (anti inflammatory) and gapapentin (for neuropathy) as well as some supplements like MSM and glucosamine. Over time my hip is way better. I can walk a couple kilometers with little or no pain. i couldn’t walk without a cane a few months ago. I use trekking poles which keeps me from limping and putting uneven pressure on the hips. this is essential. If the pain is bad at the end of the day, I take a small dose of Tramadol to help me settle down to sleep. Don’t shy away from drugs. We have cancer. Use them to your advantage.
I sympathize Oct18. The general principle is to just do as much as you are able and go day by day. I had a severe Group B Strep infection in my legs last April. Terribly painful.could not walk or stand or even move my legs. Spent a month in the hospital. It "ate" my leg muscles and other tissues. So I have been rebuilding strength and muscle with physical therapy ever since. The inactivity (bed rest for weeks and then a wheelchair) further eroded muscles.
Walked with a walker, then a quad-cane. Started with just short (<50 yards) and slowly built as I learned how to walk all over again. I got a recumbent stationary bike on Amazon which helped the process. Then went to a pool that had a walking loop. Walking in chest deep water was also very helpful. And did strength training on good machines for safety. I understand how the exercise that you need causes pain for days afterward. Same with me. But you keep going. Now I can walk quite well 3-6 miles most days and have started to run again, ridiculously slow but so enjoyable for me as a lifelong runner.
I am concerned about your hip repair surgery. Why did they not give you an advanced total hip replacement instead of the complex fixation in a cancerous bone? You should discuss with a good hip orthopedist. Best of luck to you. MB
I have wondered the same thing about my surgery. I will discuss these things with my Dr. next visit. It does make it a little tricky since we don't know what exactly is causing the pain and which Dr. can help with relieving it. I am planning on joining a gym 1/2 mile from my house that has more equipment and a pool. Thank you for your advice!
if you believe the upper thigh ache is muscular (vs bone pain), you might look for a sports medicine person who will give you either corticosteroid, autologous blood or PRP injections (those are listed in the order that a practitioner will attempt, to be as conservative as possible).
I've done all of the above for various orthopedic problems and have had very successful outcomes. You will be expected to work with a PT before/after the injections, and ftm this might be valuable for you anyway.
You can swim using upper body only. They make neoprene flotation swim trunks to keep your hips up. Also use a pull bouy between your legs to keep your legs up. You still get a great cardio swim work out with no strain on your hips or legs.
Thank you! That sounds like a good plan. Swimming seems to be the best option right now for no impact but still working the muscles and getting a good cardio workout.
I've been living with stage 4 PC for 10 years and although I haven't had any broken bones, much less surgery like yours, I have been developing dull throbbing in my lower pelvis, my "sit bones" as it were.
Incidentally, I started an integrative oncology program that includes 4 sessions of acupuncture. It has helped a lot with saliva issues (mine is poor due to radiation, chemo and Pluvicto).
To the point, one session focusing on hip and pelvis pain has resulted in it going away almost completely! No meds, no pelvic floor radiation, just some mosquito bite like pricks and a tingle or two and things are 100% better.
I have tried acupuncture for a few things in the past, though I did not get any improvement from it . All cases are different so I may look into trying it. Thanks for the advice!
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