Adapting your lifestyle

When you are fighting breast cancer, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be challenging. Fortunately, there are many strategies to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle during and after your treatment.

• Proper nutrition
• Physical activity
• Complementary care

Proper nutrition

Cancer treatments can affect your appetite and digestive system. Sometimes, a simple modification in what you eat and drink can make all the difference. Here are some suggestions:

• Choose foods high in protein and calories to help maintain your strength and repair body tissues.
• Eat a healthy breakfast.
• Eat frequent, smaller meals throughout the day.
• Keep a variety of healthy snacks available for when you feel like eating.
• Try softer foods, such as yogurt, frozen yogurt, or milkshakes.
• Try a liquid nutritional supplement.
• Drink lots of fluids between meals.

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Physical activity

Exercise is good for everyone, but now there is evidence that it may help survivors of breast cancer live even longer.

A recent study, reported by the American Cancer Society, of almost 3,000 breast cancer patients suggested that those who exercised three to five hours a week were less likely to die of breast cancer than those who got less than one hour of physical activity a week.

Exercise has additional perks — it can help boost energy levels and improve self-esteem and body image.

Talk with your doctors about the amount and type of exercise that are right for you.

For more information, visit the American Cancer Society Web site.

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Complementary care

"Complementary" refers to approaches that support or complement — but don't replace — the treatment(s) your doctor recommends. Complementary treatments rarely have any direct effect on the disease itself. However, they may be useful in relieving the symptoms related to the disease or to the treatment. Be sure to let your doctor know if you are considering any form of complementary care.

Here are a few examples of complementary care techniques aimed at promoting relaxation and relieving stress.

• Meditation. Practiced for thousands of years, meditation is a spiritual approach to relaxation. It involves turning your attention inward by focusing on your breathing while chanting a simple word or phrase. The goal is to achieve inner harmony by clearing your mind.
• Guided imagery. You think of a pleasant place, activity, sensation, or experience, trying to visualize all the colors, sounds, and other sensations that give you a sense of well-being. In times of stress, you can recall this image to induce relaxation.
• Yoga. Yoga practice seeks to create mental and physical harmony by combining breathing techniques and gentle stretching exercises with positive thoughts and meditation. One distinguishing characteristic of yoga is its emphasis on holding the body in different poses. Over time, yoga can improve your flexibility, tone your muscles, reduce your stress, relieve physical discomfort, and restore a sense of wholeness.

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