⚾ Prehab: Training for Your Cancer Multi-Inning Baseball Game
How to Condition Your Body and Mind to Crush Every Curveball
The waiting is the worst. More than the sheer volume of tests, appointments, and looming treatments for cancer, including chemotherapy, surgery, and perhaps radiation. It’s knowing you have cancer and waiting to start fighting it. That can make you feel powerless. But instead of feeling suspended, you must recognize this critical time: You are in training for the biggest game of your life.
The journey against cancer is a Multi-Inning Game. It requires strategic preparation, long-term endurance, and a proactive mindset to hit every curveball cancer throws. To win, you must condition yourself now to minimize the impact of treatment later.
This is the power of Prehab—your training camp designed to maximize your power and confidence at the plate.
🏋️ Phase I: Physical Conditioning (Fortify Your Swing)
Your goal is peak strength and immune function to withstand the “helpful poison” of treatment and support optimal recovery.
1. Move to Maintain Muscle: Fuel the Fight
You must maintain muscle mass and endurance to withstand the systemic attack of chemotherapy. Every bit of strength you have is protective, as staying healthy is key to avoiding unnecessary suffering.
Action: Continue or start a regular exercise routine of lifting weights, metabolic conditioning, and walking. I focused on exercising 5 out of 7 days per week to maintain strength and endurance.
The Science: Exercise is often called “onco-rehab” because it directly reduces inflammation and fatigue. Studies show that exercise builds expertise in your mind’s coping abilities, improving resilience and decision-making.
2. Fuel Your System: Optimize Your Metabolism
A proper prehab diet supports immune function and minimizes gastrointestinal issues.
Action: Consult with an oncology-trained nutritionist or dietitian. They can help you create a plan to avoid foods that might cause problems (like raw/undercooked foods during treatment) while prioritizing nutrient density. I regularly drank Athletic Greens or Supergreens to provide vegetable nutrients and probiotics.
Action: Keep hydrating. Please feel free to request extra IV fluids during infusions, as this is generally a good idea, helps flush medication, and increases comfort.
3. Master the Recovery Drill: Proactive Defense
Your goal is to anticipate and neutralize the enemy’s moves—the side effects. Waiting for symptoms to hit means you’ve fallen behind; proactive defense is your winning strategy.
Nausea
Ask for a prophylactic antiemetic like Cinvanti (aprepitant) to block the vomiting reflex. For my sister, this was a miracle drug.
Why? It’s counterintuitive to treat symptoms you don’t have, but timing is everything when it comes to preventing nausea.
Pain
Use a medication tracking app to schedule non-opioid pain medication precisely every four or six hours.
Why? You must take pain medication on a schedule to stay ahead of the discomfort.
Hair Loss
Explore cold capping options now. This cools the scalp, reducing chemotherapy absorption in hair follicles.
Why? Personal choice but maintaining a sense of normalcy and dignity by keeping your hair can be a source of strength and control.
Neuropathy (Tingling/Numbness)
Ask your team about using ice socks and mittens during your carboplatin infusion. I also took Claritin to minimize bone pain.
Why? Icing hands and feet is thought to reduce this side effect - but this is not FDA verified.
Sexual Health/Early Menopause/Erectile Dysfunction
Proactively ask your medical team about the gynecological and sexual side effects of chemo.
Why? These are often unspoken side effects that require management strategies to maintain quality of life.
Sleep Disruption
If your state allows, ask your doctor about using THC/CBD products to manage steroid jitters and induce sleep.
Why? Steroids often cause jitters and insomnia, and THC is also an anti-nausea agent.
🧠 Phase II: Mental Conditioning (Sharpen Your Mindset)
Mental resilience wins games. Your goal is to eliminate the constant fear and confusion that drains your energy and crowds your mind.
1. Build Your Killer Team
You cannot win this game alone. Cancer is a team sport, and you need teammates who can catch, cheer, and lift you up.
Appoint Your Operations Executive (OE): This is the single most important non-medical position. Your OE is organized, kind, and a little bossy—they manage the helpers so you can focus on the game. When someone asks how to help, give them the name of your OE, with “no guilt, no apology”.
Delegate Logistics to the Life Crew: Ask people for practical help now. This includes meals (a meal train), driving, and keeping your children’s lives normal by coordinating carpools or playdates.
2. Design Happiness Tripwires
This is your mental armor and rebellion against cancer. Happiness is a strategy you actively implement to inject joy into a bleak experience.
The Science: Small, consistent, joyful moments are chemically proven to work. Neuroscience confirms that positive experiences trigger the release of key hormones like Oxytocin, Dopamine, and Serotonin, which boost decision-making and resilience. Aim for Small+Consistent>Big+Occasional to maximize the impact of joy.
Action: Embed joy into your routine:
Emotional Boosts: Line up a text friend who sends you jokes or virtual hugs for your infusion days.
Mindful Escapes: Make a musical playlist or put on an aromatherapy pendant to eliminate the hospital antiseptic smell.
Goals to Live For: Plan micro-milestones—small celebrations or events during treatment—so you have joy to look forward to and a reason to stay strong. Reading letters from my son at college every week during infusions was a powerful happiness tripwire.
This is your game. You may not choose the pitch you’re going to see, but you always choose the swing. Use this time now to train harder than ever.
Extra Innings: Your Power Play
You’re already survived every moment you thought you might not. By applying this prehab strategy, you are choosing connection over isolation, knowledge over confusion, and gratitude over fear.
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Until next week, keep kicking cancer’s ass.