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It's just gone a month since finishing Radiation Therapy, and as expected it's been a busy month. I've progressively got stronger so have been ramping up the ride distances. From 40km three weeks ago to 60km in hilly Toodyay two weeks ago (THAT knocked me around!), then some endurance cross-training walking on the Bibbulmun track last week (20kms, 15 with a heavy overnight pack) and finally the last big training ride on Sunday, a 74km ride up the zig-zag to Kalamunda. I'm pleased to report that the last ride didn't feel too bad at all, I think I'm ready ... wish me luck!
by Steve Kinsman on Tue, Oct 16, 2012 @ 1:26 AM
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I finally finished radiation therapy - YAY! - and now, nearly two weeks later, I'm feeling a whole lot better.
Seven weeks and 33 treatments was a grind, and I started to get pretty tired in the last week or two, but OMG it's finally done and I can feel energy returning already. So what happens now? Check out my blog (http://goo.gl/t7it9).
The other health news is that latest x-rays show enough healing to get my clavicle plate out, so I've scheduled that for straight after the big charity ride on 20th / 21st of October. The doc says that by now the plate is just about doing more harm than good, given the aggravation that horrible hook causes (I still can't sleep on that side after 6 months ...).
So with the ride less than a month away it looks like I've got a busy month coming up. I've stayed on my bike throughout radiation therapy but the distances have been small, it's time to ramp them up to prepare for the 200km ride! Also I'm going to have to spend a lot of time chasing people up one-on-one for donations. This is where you can really help me if you haven't donated yet - please save me the trouble of contacting you, and donate now!
Remember, 100% of your donation is paid immediately to the WA Institute of Medical Research, with no admin fees deducted and no delay.
As one of the top fundraisers I was recently given a tour of WAIMR by the Director, Dr Peter Klinken, and some of his staff. It was great to see how much this fundraising means to them; the sort of equipment they will be able to buy and the research that this equipment will enable. From a personal perspective it was fantastic to strike up a relationship with them - they've encouraged me to contact them for help if the radiation therapy hasn't knocked my cancer on the head. It might help me get access to life-saving clinical trials, very important with so many gene therapies etc on the cusp of making huge progress in curing cancer.
by Steve Kinsman on Thu, Sep 27, 2012 @ 1:27 AM
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I'm more than half way through my radiation therapy (see http://goo.gl/t7it9) - yay! The first session was on 31-July after I had a scan & measurements done mid-July, and a couple of tattoos were put on my hips. Then there was a couple of weeks waiting while the dosage planning was done.
Meanwhile the shoulder keeps getting better but I still can't sleep on it. Maybe this is as good as it gets until I get the clavicle plate out. Hopefully I can book that for soon after the big ride.
Training was going pretty well until this week when I got a mild cold; that on top of therapy wiped me out. July training was moderate - 335km, 35 rides - as the focus was on my shoulder again. Since then radiation therapy's been going on so every ride's a bonus. I like showing up for treatment on my bike, they're not used to seeing that. :)
by Steve Kinsman on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 @ 5:21 AM
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Here's a quick update on what's been happening the last couple of months. Rehab on my broken collar bone has its ups and downs but overall is going pretty well. I wish I could report the same on the cancer front - it looks like I've got a bit more work to do before I have it beat.
A couple of months ago a blood test result showed tiny signs of cancer recurrence, and now another blood test result has confirmed it. So I'll be starting radiation therapy in a couple of weeks, and that will go for about 7 weeks. See http://goo.gl/t7it9 for more info.
Meanwhile as for the 200km Ride in October, I'll just have to stay as fit as I can through the treatment (fatigue is a common side-effect though) and ramp the training up for the last few weeks before the ride.
So the ride's still on, and your donations are needed! Don't forget it's a new financial year so you should have a renewed charity budget. Here's a good place to use it, with 100% of your donation paid immediately to the W.A. Institute of Medical Research. Please help. :)
by Steve Kinsman on Fri, Jul 06, 2012 @ 12:16 AM
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Cancellara broke his collarbone 2 weeks after I did mine, and needed surgery too. So how do I compare to him? Well he's currently leading Le Tour de France which I guess is a pretty good recovery ... maybe just beating my efforts. :)
My excuse is of course I don't have the luxury of being paid to train. I'm sure he too has to do all the daily physio exercises, physio visits and rehab work at the gym (totalling around 10-12 hours a week at the moment) but then gets to ride instead of sitting at a desk for 40 hours.
Where I'm going with this is I'm struggling to find time to train, and it tapered off last month. A bad 10-day virus didn't help either. :(
May - 418km, 38 rides
June - 209km, 23 rides
Back to the drawing board I guess ... but whatever, come October I'm sure she'll be right!
by Steve Kinsman on Mon, Jul 02, 2012 @ 12:12 AM
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I tentatively got back on the bike with a broken collar bone on 6-Apr, and have ramped things up a bit since then. I'm still a bit pedestrian-shy though, I think I feel safer around cars!
I managed 28 rides, 15 hours, 350kms this month, an improvement on March. Maybe May will be back on track. :)
by Steve Kinsman on Tue, May 08, 2012 @ 2:00 AM
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After breaking a collar bone mid-month I couldn't match February's training (41 rides, 21 hours, 479km) - only got to 13 rides, 9 hours, 217km. I started riding again yesterday (see the update at http://goo.gl/I9Pkf) but slowly, slowly now ... it'll be a while before I'm back where I was. Maybe by June I'll be able to make progress on February.
by Steve Kinsman on Fri, Apr 06, 2012 @ 8:20 PM
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Despite a bit of splintered bone "like fetta cheese" the surgery yesterday has put me on track for a speedy recovery from the bike crash. See the updates at http://goo.gl/I9Pkf.
by Steve Kinsman on Fri, Mar 23, 2012 @ 5:58 AM
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More fantastic support from everyone - news of my broken collar bone (http://goo.gl/I9Pkf) triggered a flood of sympathy and donations, so the goal of beating the Brisbane fundraising average has been met! Again that doesn't mean the fundraising stops now, every dollar raised is paid directly to WAIMR to help cancer research. Time to set a new goal. Apart from "no more bike crashes" that is. :)
by Steve Kinsman on Mon, Mar 19, 2012 @ 2:27 AM
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Bike crash. Busted collar bone. Full details here:
http://goo.gl/I9Pkf
by Steve Kinsman on Fri, Mar 16, 2012 @ 4:29 AM
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The Brisbane ride last year raised around $3500 per participant, but this time round the organisers set a minimum "must-reach" goal of $2500. Thanks to the fantastic support I've had from everyone I've reached that $2500 milestone - awesome! That doesn't mean the fundraising stops now, every dollar raised is paid directly to WAIMR to help cancer research. Time to beat the Brisbane mark and go for $3750!
by Steve Kinsman on Thu, Mar 15, 2012 @ 12:07 AM
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I managed to capture nearly all of my Feb riding on Strava so I've got a good picture of how it went. 41 rides, 21 hours, 479km so that's 115km/week. I'll need to ramp it up gradually, especially the longer rides - a 50km ride is about the limit at the moment!
by Steve Kinsman on Sun, Mar 04, 2012 @ 5:48 AM
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Last year's Brisbane ride had 1400 participants and raised $4.7 million ... and with your help Perth is on track to blitz this!
by Steve Kinsman on Sun, Feb 26, 2012 @ 11:35 PM
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Info about the Ride on the WAIMR web site says "Cancer survivors will ride with a yellow flag on the back of their bike". Should go well with my "Metallic Sun Yellow" Kona!
See http://goo.gl/ogTjA .
by Steve Kinsman on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 @ 7:40 PM
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With any important cause we're told that our donations will make a difference, but sometimes the task seems so huge that surely an almost endless amount of money would be needed to get anywhere. However I know through my research into prostate cancer that a critical medical breakthrough can be financially balanced on a knife-edge ...
See my Fundraising Blog at http://fundraising4cancer.blogspot.com.au/ for the full story.
by Steve Kinsman on Mon, Feb 20, 2012 @ 12:43 AM
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