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Runner Didn’t Let Cancer Diagnosis Beat Him In His Race To Survive

Runner Didn’t Let Cancer Diagnosis Beat Him In His Race To Survive

By Natalie Pompilio, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

PHILADELPHIA _ When doctors diagnosed Michael Ross with stage IV colon cancer last September, he didn’t ask them to forecast his future. The 44-year-old triathlete was focused on living, not dying.

So a few months after the disease was identified, Ross ran the Rothman Institute’s 8K race in the city as he has done for years. Because the event fell on one of his treatment weekends, his wife disconnected and flushed his chemotherapy line, bought him hand warmers and thermal socks, and sent him on his way. Dozens of friends surrounded him during the length of the run, all of them wearing blue shirts with a large yellow semicolon on the front.

Get it? A semicolon, like what Ross had left after surgery to remove the diseased portion. A semicolon, to represent a pause in life, not an end.

That positive attitude _ and a healthy dose of humor _ made all the difference, Wendy Ross believes. It’s fitting, she said, that her husband is a sports-medicine doctor at Rothman, a medical facility focused on orthopedics, where he founded and directs the Performance Lab, an exercise center that helps athletes improve their performance.

“At work, he helps people reach their potential, and here he was outside of work serving as a positive example for us all,” she said. “A lot of people who would have gotten that diagnosis would have given up. He never did.”

I met Wendy around this time last year when I wrote about Autism Inclusion Resources, the nonprofit she founded to help children on the spectrum prepare for new experiences that might unsettle them, like being on an airplane or sitting through a sporting event. She was one of CNN’s 10 “Heroes” of 2014, an honor awarded to ordinary people doing extraordinary work to help others.

When Wendy and I first talked, Michael was just a few months into his nine-month chemotherapy regimen. She was juggling the stress of his illness with the struggle to find continued funding for her organization and more typical life issues: holding down a job, raising sons Ben and Jacob, maintaining a home. Still, she made it clear that she did not want me to mention any of her personal challenges in that piece. She wanted the focus to be on helping autistic children and their families.

I thought she was extraordinary then. Now I know she’s part of an extraordinary family.

Michael is now cancer-free, extraordinary as those diagnosed with his rare form of colon cancer have a survival rate of 6 percent. Ben, 12, will be bar mitzvahed next year and, instead of a big party, he told his parents to donate the money they would have spent on that to an organization that helps families dealing with a cancer diagnosis, “so no one has to have a year like we did.”

“You can have a party that’s only going to last a few hours, or you could change someone’s life,” Ben told me when he occasionally looked up from his iPad when I visited the family’s home.

As part of his bar mitzvah preparation, Ben is selling semicolon T-shirts to raise money for charity. (For more details, visit: www.mylocker.net)

With prior shirt sales, Ben’s current hawking, and the unused party money, Wendy expects they’ll donate about $10,000.

“No one wants to be diagnosed with cancer, but when you are, hopefully, it doesn’t have to be the end of the story,” Michael said. Added Wendy, “It’s not really about focusing on the possibility of dying. It’s about living as much as you can while you’re here.”

(c)2015 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Photo: newsworks

 

So You Want To Start Running? Five Pro Tips To Get You Started

So You Want To Start Running? Five Pro Tips To Get You Started

By Deven Hopp, Byrdie (TNS)

Runners always seem like they’re on top of the world — powering through the streets with strength, agility and grace. It’s incredibly intimidating for those of us who’ve spent more time sitting on the pavement than pounding it. But spring has sprung, your New Year’s resolutions have probably fizzled (guilty) and swimsuit season is only a few short months away — basically it’s the perfect time to tap into your inner track star.

To help you get started, we talked to celebrity trainer Patrick Murphy — who’s worked with celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Olivia Wilde. Murphy said that not only is running a “super-mood booster,” but it’s also one of the most efficient calorie-burners you can find.

“The downside? If you aren’t properly prepared with the correct mechanics and gear, running can be quite unforgiving on the body,” Murphy said. To make sure you start off on the right foot, Murphy shared his five most important tips for novice runners. “Some might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many beginners overlook these simple steps,” he said.

Purchase the proper shoes

This probably comes as no surprise, but the gym shoes you’ve had since college aren’t going to cut it.

“Do you have neutral feet? Do your feet pronate? If you have no idea, you could have a serious problem after only a few miles,” Murphy said. Before you embark on your first run, visit a legitimate running shoe store to get fitted with the proper shoes for your feet. (You don’t even need to buy from the store — as long as you figure out what you need, you can probably find a deal online.) “Running is a repetitive activity, so if you don’t have support in all of the right places with every foot strike, you could end up in pain or with an injury like plantar fasciitis (aka jogger’s heel).”

Find running partners

“Befriending like-minded individuals will keep you motivated and consistent, and willing to go the extra mile,” Murphy said. “Finding a partner with a little more experience would elevate your game sooner, but a partner at your same level can also be beneficial with motivation and consistency.”

If your friend group is coming up dry, check the class schedule at your gym. A lot of gyms offer treadmill classes now — which means you’ll get accountability and expert guidance.

Start resistance training

Murphy recommends adding a resistance-training program that involves balance, endurance and strength. Whatever you choose to do, skip the seated machines at the gym and preform your exercises in a standing position instead.

“Injury prevention is key as you embark on a consistent running program. One of the best exercises, especially for runners is the 100-ups — it really works, I’ve used this technique myself,” Murphy said.

You may know 100-ups as “high knees.” It’s just as straightforward as it sounds. Do 100 high knees, alternating legs the entire time. The first 50 are slow, and then you do the last 50 double-time. Just make sure your heels never hit the ground. The 100-ups is essentially an exaggerated running form that builds strength and endurance in your hip flexors and quads.

Be patient

Be patient with your running progression.

“I have newbie runners perform jog/walk intervals for three miles until we eventually eliminate the walk,” Murphy said. “Trying to accomplish too much (going too fast or for too many miles) straight out of the gate can result in an injury setback.”

Fuel up first

Don’t try to run on empty stomach.

“I suggest eating a whole fruit before a run, like an orange or an apple. They’re only about 60 calories, easy to digest, and will give you a nice boost to your performance,” Murphy said.

Lean proteins, good carbohydrates and anything low in fat will also do the trick.

“Avoid high fat foods right before a run, since fats take longest to digest.” The same is true for after a run. “Listen to your body and learn what foods and beverages work best for you,” said Murphy. Finding the right pre- and post-run meals could be the difference between a good run and a bad one.

(c)2015 Fitbie.com

Get the latest celebrity beauty news, runway trends, health and fitness tips, as well as product suggestions from the experts at Byrdie.com.

(c)2015, Clique Media Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Photo: Alain Limoges via Flickr

Quick & Healthy: Fitter, Happier, More Delicious

Quick & Healthy: Fitter, Happier, More Delicious

“Quick & Healthy” offers some highlights from the world of health and wellness you may have missed this week:

  • Power naps are not only a great away to restore your energy — they may provide an additional memory boost. In a recent German study, participants who took a 90-minute snooze were more successful at retaining recently learned information than participants who stayed up and watched a movie.
  • Researchers trying to make chocolate healthier and more delicious are showing results. By using a technique known as “pulp preconditioning,” in which cocoa pods are placed in storage for a week before processing, as well as adjusting the temperatures and timing of roasting the beans, they are finding new ways to let the finished chocolate retain more of the flavorful and nutritious antioxidants.
  • Everything old is new again. The phenomenon of “minimalist” running is yet another back-to-basics fad, in which joggers try to approximate the way our ancestors ran — namely, barefoot. Doctors are cautioning that older runners who want to take up the barefoot running craze would be advised to transition slowly to avoid injury.
  • Glysophate, the world’s most widely used weed killer and a bastion of Big Agra, is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” according to a new report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Monsanto has been distributing glysophate under the trade name Roundup since the 1970s, and predictably has disputed the report.

Photo: Lee McCoy via Flickr

How To Stay Fit In Your 60’s And Beyond

How To Stay Fit In Your 60’s And Beyond

By Steve Brandt, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (TNS)

MINNEAPOLIS — Dr. Jamie Peters counsels his patients on fitness for the aging, and Denis Nagan is the model patient.

Nagan, 69, has been active in sports or fitness since grade school. Peters is a sports medicine specialist caring for aging athletes and other older adults wanting to preserve or improve their fitness.

Peters advises older people to stay active, with at least three days a week of moderate activity, intensifying the effort if possible to the point of not being able to carry on a conversation. He advocates cross-training to spread the stress of exercise among different muscles. It’s particularly important to exercise the core muscles, he said, because a strong core will diminish the kind of awkward gait people adopt when compensating for joint pain. But when cross-training isn’t possible, Peters advocates walking — it’s better than not walking.

Nagan has found his own path, on the brink of qualifying as a septuagenarian, to most of what Peters prescribes. Fitness has been an integral part of his life since he joined a swim club as a kid. But in his late 60s, he found himself adapting his regimen to meet changing physical and mental health needs.

He has biked throughout his life — for transportation, for fitness and to compete, culminating in the 1,200-kilometer Paris-Brest-Paris ultramarathon bike tour. He was a runner for the same reasons, to the point of logging 50-kilometer training runs with former Olympians. But these days he’s more likely to move at a pace that fits his age and lifestyle, something that many older adults can emulate.

“I walk for utility and I walk for aimlessness,” the northeast Minneapolis resident said. A trip to pick up an item at Home Depot? That’s a two-and-a-half-mile walk. A walk downtown to the library, or to catch the Blue Line to the V.A. hospital, is 7 or 8 miles round trip.

“It’s been very beneficial both mentally and physically,” Nagan said. Walking lacks the cardio intensity of biking and running. Sometimes he’ll jog up a hill, just to push his heart rate and get some of the cardiovascular benefits Peters prescribes.

“My legs are strong and I can hike all day,” said Nagan. “I just can’t go as fast as I used to, and I don’t know that that’s important. There’s no reason to go fast other than you did at one time go fast.”

For a greater challenge, Nagan tackles the physically demanding ups and downs of the Superior Hiking Trail, a trail edging Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota. “If I’m in the city, I call it a walk. When I’m in the country, I call it a hike.”

Unlike many walkers, Nagan eschews headphones. That leaves his mind free to operate on two tracks. “I’m very aware of what’s going on around me. I’m always aware of who’s around, what’s around, what’s going on. I’m always tuned into the immediacy of the moment.” That includes the temperature, the breeze, the surface he’s walking on. “It’s always different even if you’re going the same route.”

Meanwhile, his mind is working subconsciously. “All of a sudden I might have a solution to a problem … The subconscious part of your mind is back there grinding away.”

That mindfulness is a carry-over from Nagan’s meditation and yoga practices, something Peters also prescribes for building core strength and balance. Why is yoga better than, say, pushups and situps? Yoga can be modified by a capable instructor to avoid positions that might impose undue stress on the body.

Lifelong athletes inevitably will find themselves making adjustments, with performance beginning to diminish after 40 or 45 years old. Peters recommends age-group competitions as a healthy adjustment for people driven to maintain high levels of fitness. “I think the healthy attitude is you set expectations that you can achieve,” he said.

Nagan finds other benefits from a less punishing exercise regimen. “The biggest is you’re not beat up all the time.” When he ran hard, “You’re always sore — there’s always something that’s sort of semi-broken. It feels good to not have to be worried about how fast you’re doing something.”

Joint issues are a common concern for aging athletes. The older a person, the greater the chance for joint pain caused by degenerative arthritis (i.e., thinning cartilage lining in the joints). Peters still emphasizes the importance of exercise, even for patients suffering from stiff or aching joints. Peters points to solid evidence that movement prolongs joint life by keeping the synovial fluid healthier and the cartilage better nourished. Here, too, it can help to emphasize core strength — a stronger core prevents exercisers from adopting one of those strange gaits, prone to cause even more problems. One low-impact way to exercise with arthritis is riding a bike or a stationary bike with mild to moderate resistance for 35 to 40 minutes a day.

Arthritis can also be addressed by relatively inexpensive steroidal injections. These can relieve discomfort for several months, Peters said. That relief makes exercise easier while allowing for a more normal gait and diminishing the chance of further injury.

Another big issue for older athletes is losing muscle mass, which can’t be replaced once lost. Peters recommends resistance activities such as weight workouts for all his patients, but especially those over 60.

Like Nagan, Peters at 61 has a stake in preserving a high level of fitness for his age. “I want to keep being able to hike high up in the mountains,” he said from Colorado, where he’d just finished a daylong hike at altitude. He runs weekly, which is as much as his knees allow, but also bikes both on the road and on a stationary bike, works out on roller skis for dryland training, and skate-skis during the winter.

Some of Peters’ patients embody the benefits of workout regimens like his. “I have the honor of taking care of a lot of octogenarians who are healthy and doing well,” Peters said. “They have a lifelong habit of staying active.”

Photo: Wicycle via Wikimedia Commons