Weight

For most persons with cancer, weight is a critical issue. Every doctor’s visit starts with the routine of “checking vitals” to spot trends (up, down or stable) as early as possible and start appropriate treatment.

A year ago, I weighed in at 90 pounds after having lost 24% of my pre-illness weight of 118 pounds. That was the lowest point to date. My normally muscular legs couldn’t even be called slender. They were stringy. Twenty-eight pounds on a person of my size (just over 4 feet 11 inches) is a ton of chubbiness!

Very soon thereafter, however, I climbed back up to 95 pounds with the assistance of an ice cream diet recommended by my doctor. (Such a hardship!) After a few months of adding several ounces a day, I now hover in the vicinity of 100 pounds. My fervent desire is to stay there permanently. My only regret is having done it with the unwelcome assistance of a very scary illness.

The gremlin of thwarted goals, however, has reared its ugly head. A new medication, begun a week ago to treat side effects of the chemotherapy, has its own side effect of weight gain, and today, the first extra pound appeared. A close watch now will tell me whether or not I have slid back into the old habit of see-sawing weight. I welcome this if it signals a return to health.

Any breakthrough inspirations on managing the cold war of weight management will be bulletined out at once. Stay tuned.


Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted September 19, 2008