Taking Care of Yourself During and After Treatment
It would be best if you cared for yourself before, during, and after cancer treatment. This is especially important if you are a carer, as the demands of caring can harm your physical and mental health.
Taking care of yourself entails the following:
- Eating healthily
- Maintaining as much activity as possible
- Developing a workout routine that works for you
- Understanding your emotions, thoughts, and reactions
- Taking care of yourself
- Putting your mental health first
- Investigating meditation and mindfulness
Physical Exercise
It is safe to continue exercising during breast cancer treatment as long as your doctor approves. Many women find that staying active makes them feel better. Walking, yoga, swimming, and other activities can help you stay strong and energized. Exercise may alleviate nausea and pain and make treatment more bearable. It can also help with stress relief. Whatever physical activity you choose, consult with your doctor first.
Also, if your activity causes you pain or other issues, notify your doctor or nurse.
Yoga
Yoga is a method of promoting physical and emotional well-being through physical postures and breathing techniques. Yoga has been shown in studies to reduce the side effects of cancer and its treatments [1]. To speed recovery or protect against cancer occurrence and recurrence, it is recommended to get 150-320 minutes of exercise per week [2].
Yoga is not all the same, and the needs of cancer survivors differ. Oncology-based programmes must provide safe and effective care.
What Makes Yoga Unique for Cancer Patients
Specialized Education is Required
A cancer-specific yoga teacher training programme assists teachers in identifying and dealing with the long-term side effects of cancer and its treatments. Yoga teachers require basic information about cancer and yoga because understanding, not just compassion, is required. For example, compassion may lead a teacher only to offer gentle or restorative poses to a cancer survivor. However, yoga is more than just a relaxation technique; movement is required to stimulate the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, aiding recovery and long-term stability.
According to recent research, the physical exercise provided by yoga improves immune function [3, 4], reduces inflammation, and improves the efficacy of chemotherapy and radiation [5, 6]. Still, there are physical limits to what can be done with a limited amount of time. Only training and supervised experience can provide a yoga teacher with information about safe and effective yoga adaptation methods for cancer survivors.
Safety Comes First
Feeling safe is the first step towards healing. A cancer survivor’s physical or psychological safety may differ from that of a typical student. Some cancer treatments cause serious long-term fragilities that require special attention, hair loss and fatigue.
Emotional safety is also essential. Survivors bring their fears to class, including the fear of developing lymphedema (fluid retention and swelling caused by a weakened lymphatic system), which can be as intense as the fear of cancer. Students must hear that their teacher understands their concerns and will know how to modify the poses or sequences they are taught. A student affected by cancer may struggle to understand her body’s new limitations and will seek reassurance and sound advice.
Recognizing Risk Factors
Yoga, like cancer, does not come in one size fits all; each survivor’s cancer, treatments, side effects, and body are unique, and yoga teachers must adapt to their needs. The risks are higher when teaching yoga to cancer survivors; teachers should know them to best care for their students.
A short list of risk factors is as follows:
- Fragile bones that put you at risk of fracture
- Obstructions and sensitivities in the abdomen
- Muscle weakness or absence
- Balance is affected by peripheral neuropathy.
- A weakened immune system increases the risk of infection.
When a teacher offers a cancer survivors class, she says, “I am responsible.” “I know what yoga is best for you, and I will protect you from potential discomfort and injury, as well as calm your doubts or fears with knowledge and facts.” Survivors expect teachers to be knowledgeable about three broad topics:
1. The following treatments are available for cancer patients:
2. Poses with the most advantages
3. Poses that can be dangerous
Meditation
Meditation is a technique for untangling our thoughts and the accompanying emotions. When we are stressed or distracted, we are focused on our reaction to something—for example, an event or frustration. Meditation teaches us to detach from our reactions and observe them without emotion. This awareness enables us to stay in the present moment, comprehend our thought patterns, and better understand our emotions and ourselves.
Stress is a major cause of many health problems, and recent research indicates that meditation can aid in stress management, anxiety, sleep disorders, and chronic pain [6]. Meditation has been shown to improve brain attention span, focus, and creativity. Recent studies have also shown meditation to increase our compassion for others [7].
How to Begin Meditation
All you need to get started with meditation is some comfort and dedication. Find a comfortable place to sit and commit to practising simultaneously every day. Do your best to stay committed, and remember that if you miss a day, restart.
Begin slowly, with just a few minutes per day, and gradually increase the length of your practice. We all have hectic schedules, but planning will help you manage your time more effectively in the long run. Practising first thing in the morning can be beneficial because it is a good way to start the day—fresh and clear, carrying your intention and awareness throughout the day.
It is critical for beginners not to sit for too long. Meditations can last two, five, ten, or fifteen minutes and are appropriate for beginners who want to begin a daily practice. Committing to shorter daily meditations is preferable to longer weekly meditations.
Consider meditation-like exercise: begin slowly and gradually increase your endurance. Ten minutes a day is a good starting point, and with time, you should increase your meditation time to 25 minutes or more.
Because of how our brains work, we are hard-wired to think—and the more we try to stop them, the more they pop up.
When your mind becomes flooded, be patient, return your attention to your breath, and observe your train of thought. Your sense of ease and calm will grow with time and practice.
Free Resources
Meditation Series
Meditation Studio is providing free access to the Cancer Comfort Meditation Series to NBCF supporters.
This series includes the following:
- Taking Care of Chronic Pain
- Breathe as an ally
- Allowing Others Access
- Developing Self-Compassion
- Dealing with Denial and Disappointment
- Death and Facing Death
- Insomnia
- Strengthening and Resilience
Nutrition
Eating healthily may help you feel better and have more energy. To maintain a healthy weight, eating the appropriate number of calories is critical. Protein can also help you maintain your strength.
This is the place to be if you’re looking for a unique way to express yourself. Some treatments can make you feel tired and uneasy. Alternatively, you may discover that certain foods no longer taste as good as they once did.
Furthermore, treatment side effects (such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or mouth blisters) can make eating difficult. On the other hand, some breast cancer survivors may experience weight gain.
Your doctor, a registered dietitian, or another healthcare provider can advise you on meeting your nutritional needs while staying as close to a healthy weight as possible.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present and aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, and surroundings in a gentle, nurturing manner. Accepting your feelings and thoughts without judgement and understanding what you are sensing in the present moment, rather than living in the past or imagining the future, is what mindfulness entails.
There is a strong link between mental and physical health, a true mind-body connection. Learning techniques for developing, sustaining, and maintaining a strong mindset during treatment and beyond can be beneficial.
The Path to Mindfulness
A Mindfulness Roadmap can help you sustain, reflect, and shift your mindset. Adopting a growth mindset in which your diagnosis does not define you is a common goal of mindfulness for patients and survivors.
Dr Carol Dweck has spent over 30 years researching the possibility of growing and shifting our mindset. Her findings show we can retrain our brains to grow and develop stronger cells. Her research included children, adolescents, and adults. She discovered that while we cannot change our IQ or personality traits, we can increase our emotional intelligence by adopting a growth mindset (self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and relationship management).
Developing a Growth Mindset
There are tangible mindset tools that anyone can use to develop a new mindset and lifestyle habits for coping with a cancer diagnosis.
- Examine your self-limiting beliefs.
- Negative Thoughts Must Be Replaced (ANTs)
- Concentrate on the present.
- Journaling allows you to practise self-reflection.
- Make use of guided imagery.
- Create resilience principles.
Self-Limiting Beliefs
The first step towards developing and maintaining a growth mindset is recognizing how self-limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns can influence how we think, feel, and behave.
Self-limiting beliefs are self-limiting thoughts that prevent you from being your best and most authentic self. They are not your reality and result from negative thought beliefs and patterns that are triggered in various ways. These can result from beliefs and behaviours that you were told or taught as a young child or teenager by your parents, authority figures, or friends (and often may not be intentionally done).
You evolve your true belief, value, and moral system by eliminating self-limiting beliefs and blocks. This includes your perception of yourself (your reality), those around you, and your perception of yourself.
We all have self-limiting beliefs that can be overcome at any age. If we do not address our self-limiting beliefs, they will stifle our ability to grow and limit our role in our community and the world around us. However, your self-esteem is a limiting factor.
Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)
We must rid our brains of automatic negative thoughts as we develop a positive mindset (ANTs). ANTs are automatic negative thought patterns about something we tell ourselves, something we hear from others, or thoughts that are false or self-limiting.
ANTs can come from anywhere, including what others tell us, what we hear or read in the news, and what we tell ourselves. This can cause our negative thoughts to loop in our brains. When we eliminate ANTs, we retrain our brain (much like a muscle) to shift negative thoughts to positive thoughts and to what is true and real.
Begin to consider what negative internal dialogue you want to change. Begin by asking yourself, “What are you telling yourself?” Why are you lying to yourself?
Concentrating on the Present
Focusing on the present moment keeps your mind calm and allows you to be grateful for what you have.
If you dwell on the past or worry excessively about the future, return to the present moment and ask yourself what you are grateful for.
A “gratitude journal” will help you capture positive thoughts and feelings.
Ask yourself what three things you are grateful for, then say them aloud and write them down daily or weekly. They can be large or small in size. At night, reflect on what went well today and celebrate your accomplishments.
Journaling and Self-Reflection
Journaling is one of the most effective and powerful ways to get to know yourself. Journaling allows you to connect with your inner self and gain wisdom to understand better who you are, what you want, and what you require.
Journaling prompts for self-discovery and self-reflection:
1. In three words, how would you describe yourself?
2. In three words, how would others describe you?
3. What are your strongest points?
4. What are the five most important things you’ve learned this year?
5. What are some of your favourite family and friend memories?
6. What is your favourite way to spend the day and night?
7. Describe the two life events that I will always remember in detail and what makes them so memorable.
8. What are the top ten things that make you happy?
9. How can you make yourself feel better in physical or mental pain?
10. List compassionate and kind ways you’ve helped yourself and others.
Guided Imagery
Guided imagery involves visualizing yourself in a relaxing environment. Your guided imagery could be any activity or location you enjoy and resonate with to reduce anxiety and stress.
When you are in a stressful, professional or personal situation, use guided imagery and visualization to transport yourself to a more relaxing location.
Resilience Principles
A resilient person overcomes obstacles by drawing on personal resources, strengths, and other positive capacities such as hope, optimism, and self-efficacy.
The following are the Resilience Principles:
- Positivity about oneself
- Problem-solving Techniques
- Self-regulation
- Adaptability
- Understanding the meaning of one’s purpose requires faith.
- optimistic outlook
- Self-esteem and community value skills and talents
- Others’ general acceptance
When implementing and practising the Principles of Resilience, begin by implementing and practising one or two principles simultaneously. Begin by taking a self-image inventory, for example. List your positive qualities, and then rely on them when faced with a challenge. Ask a friend or loved one for assistance if you’re having trouble identifying positive qualities.
Then, concentrate on self-regulation by reflecting on your thoughts and feelings during a situation and how you can control and manage them. It is critical to focus on how you react to situations rather than what happens to you.
Once you’ve established the first two principles as lifestyle habits, move on to one or two other Principles of Resilience.
