Next Monday, we will be the proud owners of an Elliptical. We went to Sears and decided to make a firm commitment to health and it will be delivered next Monday. One of the things that Dr Marshall was very clear about when we last met him was the benefits of exercise to a colon cancer patient. A pair of published studies about exercise and the health of colon cancer survivors  give support to the idea that staying active after colon cancer can keep you healthy, and cancer-free.   As recent as Feb 09 –

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who recently reviewed 52 studies of exercise and colon cancer, found that the most active people were 21 percent less likely to be diagnosed with this cancer than their least active counterparts. Brisk walking or other moderate activities may lower the risk of colon cancer, but studies show moderate-to-vigorous exercise is needed to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

When we were done with chemo, Scott and I went out on our regular date night and discussed the future. We had been so laser focused on getting through cancer treatment but we knew it was time to not dwell on that anymore and get back to our job of living a normal, suburban life.  We talked about making changes and that anything that could be done to prevent the cancer from coming back, we should actively pursue for our family’s sake.  I was already on the bandwagon but Scott was weak and still recovering from treatment.  So this weekend, he felt like it was time to get back into the game.

And, even though he finished chemo at the beginning of June, the side effects linger, which lessen his options of types of exercise for now. For him, the side effects include pain in the hands and feet continually and it is worse after he’s been on his feet for a while. So for now, low impact exercise is his option and he decided elliptical. The new elliptical machines are so cool. They can connect to your wireless and you can compete against others, connect to google maps and do  specific routes and a host of other things. For a gamer like Scotty, this may be the ticket. They also can be stored with a space saving design that allows parts to flip up for storage.

I am not denying I am excited to have it at our house too for extra cardio opportunities for me!  I am committed to not allowing this to become a clothes hanger in our house!!