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In April 2019, I was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I started chemotherapy and immunotherapy in May. There are two ways to describe the diagnosis of my particular type of lymphoma, only one of which is meaningful.
If I wanted to make it sound scary and dramatic, I could use words like “incurable” and “metastatic.” But it’s more accurate to use phrases like “eminently survivable” and “highly treatable.” As long as you can survive treatment, the doctors can make it go away — however many times it might return.
Prior to starting this little medical journey, I did something I’ve done many times before: I signed up for the NYC marathon. I’ve completed it 18 times to date. It’s one of my favorite days of the year.
Shortly after starting treatment, I did an 11-miler, and it was definitely harder than I’d expected. The nurse advised me to take the mileage down “a couple notches.” Her concern was that I’d trip and fall, maybe get cut and risk infection (chemo suppresses your immune system).
But marathons are not built around 5-mile runs. I was curious. What does the literature say about vigorous or sustained exercise during this treatment? The mainstream cancer sites all recommend exercise during chemo, while emphasizing moderation. I did find a Runner’s World article that documents a runner’s successful effort to keep running during chemo, but even she says:
Is going through chemotherapy the time to train for a marathon…