The daily groove

As we waited for blood work yesterday we were struck by how much my daily groove has grown over the past few months. The goal of all these things is obviously to beat cancer but also to better tolerate the chemo - which now is the hardest part. As we go into chemo 5 and 6 we hear from all my fellow lymphoma travelers how hard that is. So I need to be better prepared going into it.

One thing I need to do is gain weight. For some 50 years I have been trying to lose weight and it is surprisingly hard to gain weight in chemo.  But I am up a pound yesterday (go ice cream) and eating 4 meals a day - healthy to get the vitamins etc.

So here is the daily routine right now to try and keep ahead of all the side effects and make sure I am as strong as I can be for the next round of chemo.

• Daily affirmation - I am cancer free etc. hokie but helps
• Stretching
• Walk at least 2X
• Sumo band work out
• Meditate - this has really helped the last few weeks keep me focused and relaxed
• Deep breathing - relax and get more oxygen in there
• Eat more - gain good weight / get vitamins
• Flush port lines 
• Take daily pills
• Poop - hardest part of chemo so to speak
• Skin - dries out - keep moist
• Get enough sleep
• 10 minutes of sun for vitamin D
• Mouth rinse multiple times
• Probiotics - but only if white blood cells are good
• Drink more water
• Open pores - shower or bath
• Dry brush - help detox
• Pray for healing and thanks for all the support and progress

All of these come from the web (it's world wide you know - so it's got to be true) or from those ahead of me in the battle.  It's a lot and we forget some at times - and then remember when I don't feel as well and then get back in the routine.  It's easy to get down and forget - but these really help and will help me get through six!

Gorgeous day and I feel almost normal. I am actually going to do part of the lawn today as exercise and getting my sun.  Feels so good to feel good - don't take it for granted!