healing physically after breast cancer
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40 COPING K September/October 2006 To subscribe or be a Coping ® writer, visit www.copingmag.com Dr. Julie Silver to help themselves physically heal. While physical recovery is a very im- portant topic by itself, in women with breast cancer it is particularly critical because early research has shown that Cg SO 06 40-49:Layout 1 12/3/09 2:48 PM Page 40TRANSCRIPT
40 COPING � September/October 2006 To subscribe or be a Coping® writer, visit www.copingmag.com
The great irony with breast can-cer is that women usually feelmuch better before treatment
begins than when it is over. Oncolo-gists have to contend with the dualand opposing mandates to save livesand adhere to the Hippocratic Oath,“first, do no harm.”
If I had gotten pneumonia insteadof cancer, I would have gone to thedoctor with a raging fever, difficultybreathing and profound fatigue. Myphysician would have prescribed an-tibiotics that would have improvedmy general state of health. While Iam truly grateful that there are treat-ments available for breast cancer,there is no doubt that when I finishedmy last chemotherapy session, I wasin a much frailer state than I had beena few months earlier.
Since I spend my working hourshelping people heal from all types ofserious injuries and illnesses, I knewwhat I had to do to facilitate my phys-ical recovery. First, I formulated aplan. I was pretty sick, and I neededto focus on those things that are mostimportant in physical healing – begin-ning with small goals that I could
achieve and build upon. What keptrunning through my head was themantra, “I want to heal faster, better,and stronger.”
It took me many months to healmyself, and after I did, I started a pro-gram called RESTORE (RecoveringEnergy and Strength Through Oncol-ogy Rehabilitation Excellence) atmy hospital that focuses on physicalrecovery in cancer survivors. RE-STORE is now a model for otherhospitals across the country.
Though there are many facetsto healing that we focus on withRESTORE, the following are threekey things that survivors can do
to help themselves physically heal.While physical recovery is a very im-portant topic by itself, in women withbreast cancer it is particularly criticalbecause early research has shown that
exercise (an important component ofphysical healing) may help preventcancer recurrence.
Buy a pedometer and record howmany steps you take each day. Thisis an inexpensive and easy to use de-vice. You can purchase one online orin most sporting goods stores. Gradu-ally increase the number of steps youtake until you reach 5,000 steps daily.Most people can accomplish this goalwithin the first four weeks. Over thenext three months, increase your stepsuntil you reach 10,000. It’s a goodidea to check with your doctor aboutexercise (and I recommend that youdo this), but most women can safely
increase their steps unless they havea serious heart or lung problem or lowblood counts.
Eat three medium sized mealsand two nutritious snacks every day.Good food helps to repair injuredtissues and organs. Moreover, fatigueis one of the most disabling problemsin breast cancer survivors. While dietisn’t the solution to all fatigue prob-lems, going too long without food orskipping meals altogether contributesto a low blood sugar level, whichworsens fatigue. Also, since manywomen gain weight during treatment,this meal-snack schedule can be agood way to shed unwanted pounds.Sticking to a healthy and regularschedule means that you are lesslikely to feel ravenous at mealtimeand overindulge.
Give up taking naps and sleepwell at night. Poor sleep, no matterwhat causes it, is detrimental to physi-cal healing. Naps tend to interferewith good sleep at night and areusually better to skip once you arefinished with chemotherapy and radia-tion. At night, it may be hard to fallasleep or stay asleep due to worry, hotflashes, or pain. If you are not gettingat least seven to eight hours of quality
sleep most nights,talk to your doctorabout how you canimprove your rest.
Optimizingyour physicalhealth after breastcancer treatment isa process that takesmost women many
months. However, there are thingsthat you can do to facilitate healingand recover more fully. As Confuciusstated, “A journey of a thousandleagues begins with a single step.”Taking the three “steps” that I out-lined above will get you started onthe right path in your healing journey.
Editor’s Note: Dr. Julie Silver is an assis-tant professor at Harvard Medical Schoolin the Department of Physical Medicineand Rehabilitation. She is a 2006 recipi-ent of the prestigious Lane Adams Qualityof Life Award from the American CancerSociety and is the author of the book,After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster,Better, Stronger (Johns Hopkins Press). �
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Healing Physically AfterBreast Cancerby Julie Silver, MD
Focus on those things that are mostimportant in physical healing.
Dr. Julie Silver
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