Oldman's Chemotherapy Programming Log

[Oldman]

Sometimes, When It Rains, It Pours: Chemotherapy and Training

So here it goes: I have been recovering from a torn tendon in the small finger of my right hand, which required surgery and has not been healing optimally. Still, I get into the gym and keep working around the injury and my lifts are going up. I had been looking forward to getting my surgeon’s approval to return to deadlifts and other lifts, and to working back toward the goal of competing.

But sometimes, when it rains, it pours…

As some of you may know, in 2009 I had open chest surgery to remove a tumor in my thymus gland, along with a chunk of my right lung. The tumor (thymoma) was related to an autoimmune condition I have, called ocular myasthenia gravis. After this, I received regular follow ups, including CT scans, first at six month intervals, then 9 months, then yearly. (I have written about this in the Elderly forum, here: http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=35607. Warning: it's another long post.) I was always clean on the CTs.

About 6 weeks ago, I learned that my CT was not clean: I had one smallish tumor in the lower right side of the thorax, below but not attached to the lung, and two smaller lesions in the pleural lining of the chest wall, also not on the lung. A biopsy of the tumor resulted in a diagnosis of metastatic thymoma. My wife (Squat Queen) and I got started on getting a treatment plan together, flew to Houston to visit the MD Anderson Cancer Center for some tests and a second opinion, and then resolved on a treatment approach. During this time, I was able to keep on track with my program and even move my squat up some.

Last Thursday, I had a port surgically implanted in my right chest, and I start the first of two cycles of chemotherapy on Monday. I had hoped to lift Thursday night, a light day, but was told I would likely rip the sutures for the port. I had also planned to do my heavy squat workout yesterday, but I was told to stay light until the incisions around the port and on my neck heal: I will be able to lift heavy in five days or so. The risk is basically one of potential infection to the site where the port is implanted.

Each chemo cycle will be three weeks, with three days of chemo followed by 18 days of recovery. After two cycles, I will get a CT scan to see how much the tumors have shrunk, and then get another two cycles to shrink them more. If necessary, after this, I will get surgery to remove whatever of the tumor and lesions are left. The good thing is that the surgeon will not go in through the chest this time, but rather through the back, by spreading the ribs. He says the recovery is quicker, perhaps 10-14 days, but a bit more painful because of the nerves on the top and bottom of the ribs. (He said the pain would be a five on a ten-point scale: I said that that sounded like the level of pain in going to work. We’ll have to see.) My surgeon is very good, and he knows that I lift, and that quality of life post-surgery means being able to go back to the gym as soon as I am able.

I intend to try to keep working and lifting during chemo, but I have not found a lot of information on the web about doing the latter. There was only one old thread on Starting Strength, and I found a thread on T-Nation by a competitive female powerlifter (her posting name was Firebug9) going through what seemed to be breast cancer, including a return to lifting 3 weeks post-surgery and throughout her entire chemo regime. She actually maintained or raised her lifts, and successfully competed in two meets. (Her cardio work did suffer a bit, depending on where she was in her treatment cycle.) I plan to keep looking for more examples of people who have done this.

Anyway, I am not sure how this is going to go, or whether I will even be able to continue working out, or at what level. My physician has said that lifting, even heavy lifting, is fine, but that I would have to gauge what I can do by how I was feeling on a given day.

So now I am starting to work on a new template, different than TM, that will help me coordinate my lifting with my chemo treatments, one that maybe has light lifting or a deload during the week that I actually get the chemicals and then something like Callador’s 4x4 program. My thought was to have a deload week followed by two weeks of gains (which is why I am leaning toward Les’s program). I would focus on a main lift each day (three days per week), with assistance work for each lift added in. I would add DLs as an assistance lift on Saturday, because my hand is not fully recovered from the tendon injury, so I will have to start over there, beginning with very light weights that I can handle grip-wise. I figure that since loss of muscle mass is also a side effect of chemo, the added assistance work with 3x10s might help me maintain or increase it.

I think that if I am successful in my intentions, this will become a new “chemo log,” so that if anyone else should have this experience, they will be able to find it on the interwebz. Ultimately, I would like this experience to be one that can help others, and to be meaningful, whatever the outcome. Also, if anyone has any ideas about programming, or knows of someone who has gone through this, please let me know.

[Oldman]

Thursday, 5.30.13

Chemo port installed, no lifting until Saturday.

Saturday, 6.1.13

I was told to keep the lifts light, for several days, so as not to tear the sutures for the port. So here is what I did:

SQ: 45x2x5, 95x2x5, 135x2x5, 185x5, 225x8, 225x8, 255x8
BP: 45x2x5, 65x5, 95x8, 115x8, 125x5, 135x5, 145x4
Curls: 20x3x10
Triceps pressdowns: 30x5x20
Wrist curls: 10x3x10

Did more on the way of volume for the squat to see what, if any, impact the port had. It is implanted in my upper right chest, just under the skin, so there was a tightness there but it was not too bad. Also, the catheter goes up into my neck a bit, and that was somewhat sore, when doing the valsalva to set up for the squat. I only went up to 255, so I don't know what it will feel like with 350 or more on my back: we'll see. With the bench, the pull on my pec from the port was noticeable but also not bad. My neck hurt a bit, mostly when I was lowering myself on to the bench and getting up from it; this will probably fade as it all heals up. It was difficult to set up my arch and keep tight, due to the soreness. I think that with these lifts, my body was a bit fatigued from the minor surgery and perhaps effected the quality of my work.

With the DB curls, my hand is pretty weak. My surgeon, whom I saw last Friday, said I could start using my hand by lifting 5 or 10 lbs (ironically, he had just had surgery for a torn achilles--done while running--so he was wheeling around the place on a little scooter thing). I noticed that it was really a challenge to hold on to the DB at even something as light as 20 lbs, so I decided to start there, even though I had worked up to around 50 lbs when I was doing the 1-arm curls. I also am starting to do wrist curls to strengthen the musculature around the hand, wrist and forearm, all of which are pretty weak. For my left hand, it's a joke, but for the hand hand, it will get challenging quickly. The triceps pressdown (or whatever they are called) were just something fun to do, while I was watching the start of a power clean clinic being taught by Nick and Tamara and while Squat Queen was out in the parking lot fighting with a truck tire.

[Walter Palmer]

Ed, I am so sorry to hear the return of the tumors. Even though we have not met, by following your log over the past year, I'm sure you will be as aggressive as you can be with your lifting and that your mental discipline will pay off through this tough time. I also know you have a great support network there. I'm sure there will be a lot of us following your log and rooting for you through all of this.

[Oldman]

Thanks, Walter! The encouragement will keep me focused and on point!

[Leah Lutz]

Ed,
I am very sorry to hear of the return of the tumor and lesions. I deeply admire your tenacity, and I will most certainly be following your log.

I hope that we will meet one day, even though we are on opposite coasts. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Warmly,
Leah

[Les Hahn]

Wow, Ed. I am very sorry to hear about this. If you need anything, please let me know.

[Karl Schudt]

Oldman, sorry to hear the bad news. Best of luck in your training and treatment!

[Oldman]

Thanks, Teach! This type of tumor is responsive to the chemo that I am getting tomorrow. I am looking forward to starting on this path. Miriam and I are working on this together as a team, as we always have done.

[Oldman]

Wow, Ed. I am very sorry to hear about this. If you need anything, please let me know.

Thanks, Les. I am putting together a program based on the 4x4 that you use. I start out light to get adjusted to the new regime, and then have time to adjust based upon what I experience. Not sure what the impact of the treatment will be, but it's fun to lay out a program. If you have a chance to look at it, and have any ideas or reactions, it would be great to have them. Thanks again, man.

[Oldman]

Oldman, sorry to hear the bad news. Best of luck in your training and treatment!

Thanks, Karl!