Chemotherapy Takes Toll on Hair, Not on Spirit

Thursday morning my hair started falling out making a big mess everywhere. So it was time to buzz it off. We had a little fun in the process with a Mohawk. My wife Renee dared me to keep it, but I chickened out. Loosing my hair is no big deal. I always try to look on the bright side of things. Hey, I get to try out a new hairstyle, and its maintenance free.

I was supposed to have chemo on Thursday, but my white blood cell count (WBC) was too low. Chemo at that time would have completely out knocked my immune system, leaving me defenseless against infection. However, my WBC has been increasing over the previous week, so I should be ok for chemo on Wednesday next week. At that time I’ll receive a new medication to help my WBC recover faster after chemo and keep me on track with my 3 week chemo cycle. Even though my chemotherapy cycle has slipped a week, I still have at least 4.5 weeks between my last treatment and Grandma’s marathon.

Training went very well this week with a weekly total of 36 miles and a long run of 13.1 miles (a half marathon). Over the last three weeks I have been building up my miles very quickly. If you are starting on a running program DO NOT build up miles this quickly or injury may occur. Most marathon training programs follow the 10% rule; only increase your long run and your weekly total by 10% each week. My marathon training prior to my surgery has allowed me to increase miles with a fast pace. However, I feel in my legs that I’ve reached the point where I need to back off on my distance increases and will start following the 10% rule hereafter.

I’ve noticed a great improvement in my cardiovascular system. When I started running three weeks ago, my heart rate would stabilize at about 163 BPM when running at about 6.3 MPH. Now when I run 6.3 MPH my heart rate stays around 145 or less. That’s a big improvement in 3 weeks. It doesn’t take long to make a significant impact to your health with exercise. The best thing you can do for your body and your mind is to get active in some manner. Get on a routine of running, walking, swimming or whatever - you’ll be much happier.