After Breast Cancer

Navigating your new life

Your scar is healing nicely, and you made it through chemotherapy and radiation. Now you’re ready to resume your life, right? Many cancer patients and their families expect things to “go back to normal” once treatment is over, but it’s not quite that simple.

“Cancer is like a near-death experience; it changes you in profound ways,” says Andrea Geshan, R.N. “You need new skills—physical, emotional and spiritual—to cope with those changes.”

Whether you had a mastectomy or lumpectomy, your body image will be affected. You may be dealing with physical problems like lymphedema or side effects from radiation, and there may be sexual issues such as loss of desire. Financial stress can mount as you cope with medical bills.

Changing your diet may be necessary. Nutritionists recommend switching to organic fruits, vegetables, beef and dairy products, limiting fats and watching your soy intake if you’re postmenopausal. Maintaining a healthy weight is important after breast cancer, because the risk for recurrence rises with extra pounds.

Then there’s the nagging worry—especially in the days before a mammogram or follow-up exam—that the cancer could return. “People reflect on their mortality at the time they are diagnosed and all through treatment,” says oncologist Gregory Harper, M.D. “Those thoughts often remain afterward, creating anxiety.” Not surprisingly, depression is common among breast cancer survivors— and it doesn’t help that family and friends expect you to be the person you were before.

How can you cope with all this? “First, realize that your feelings are normal,” says psychologist Carole Moretz, Psy.D. “You’re grateful to be alive, but you’re still figuring out how to live a new kind of life.” Confide in your family and friends, and ask for their understanding. If you could benefit from professional counseling, don’t hesitate to seek it. Practice yoga, mindfulness or meditation—these skills help you focus on the here and now and not your imagined future.

The key to being a successful survivor, Moretz says, is to “come to terms with your losses and celebrate your gains.”

Want to Know More about being a breast cancer survivor? Call 610-402-CARE or click here.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, July-August 2007

All these cancer specialists are with Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. Thanks also to Jennifer Brennan, registered dietitian, and Neddy Mack, R.N., for their assistance.

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