Is This Working Out?

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Lisa Moran on June 6, 2023.  As a cherished member of LungCancer.net and a source of inspiration, Lisa generously and bravely shared her journey, touching and inspiring many in our community. Her courage fuels our mission, and her legacy will endure in our work. Her absence will be deeply felt, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to all who held her dear. We consider it a privilege that Lisa allowed us into her life, leaving an indelible mark on our hearts and our community.

I have had an exercise routine for most of my adult life. I got my first gym membership in my mid-twenties. I would schedule partying and going out with friends around my aerobics classes. In my mid to late thirties, a friend nicknamed me, Gym Rat, because I was at the gym so often. I worked out the most and pushed myself the hardest the years, into the months, leading up to my lung cancer diagnosis.

"Will I be able to exercise?"

At the age of 44, I was at the top of my physical game. I had a love of running for the first time. It was something I wanted to do, not something I had to do. Then I received my stage IV lung cancer diagnosis with metastasis to my spine. What I feared most was the possibility of not being able to run and exercise.

Lung cancer changed my mindset about exercise

Before lung cancer, I had never thought of being a letter carrier as exercise. That's why I was working out and running after work. I had to change my mindset. It was an adjustment in thought and perspective to realize I was doing more exercise at work in one day than most people did at the gym in a week.

A medical condition, in addition to lung cancer, has kept me from work and high impact and aerobic exercise and running. I am adjusting my mindset again and telling myself, exercise doesn't always have to be running, high impact and/or cardio-based. As hard as it is for me to accept, yoga is exercise.

Finding my walking partner

It helped when I adopted my dog. She was my exercise motivation and walking partner. At first, we were walking at a snail's pace a few times a week together. We both would max out at the same point. It was a perfect relationship. We gradually increased our endurance and walking speed. Walking at a moderate pace is my new run.

Creating a new work out routine

I took it up a notch when I started an exercise challenge inspired by another lung cancer patient. The premise was to do an activity for a certain amount of minutes for the same amount of days. She chose 45 minutes of cardio for 45 days. I decided on 20 minutes of walking for 20 days.

It took an effort to get back into an exercise routine. There were days when I forced myself to go for a walk instead of sitting on the couch. When I walked in the cold and snow, I realized I was committed to the challenge. That competition sparked something in me.

Adapting to my ever-changing life

A lot of life has happened since the challenge. I found myself drawn more to the bed than the walking path. I am coming out of an exercise rut. It's time to get motivated and lace up my walking shoes or maybe I'll find a new form of exercise.

I am still that person wanting to get back into the five or six days a week cardio work out routine. But I'm now a realistic, scaled-down version of myself, adapting to my ever-changing life with lung cancer.