Diet, exercise, lifestyle to decrease the risk of BC recurrence

Wildplaces

I am hoping this will be a place where you will ALL share your tricks and plans, your hopes and goals for trying to be that little bit healthier each day. There is a lot of information available and it is daunting trying to sort through it.
I am not only looking for guidelines and links but for your collective practical wisdom - for recipes, for places to source food, for what gets you out of bed and fed in the morning, for what makes you go to sleep at night, and alas the holy grail for what makes you hold it calmly together during the day, while juggling treatments and home and life. 
Nutritional Science here we come...seriously hoping we can put our heads together and support each other to be that little bit healthier each day.

Sister

What makes you sleep at night would be the Holy Grail indeed!  Bring it on!  I'm supposedly seeing a dietitcian and a physiologist as part of a rehab program starting soon so I'll share any tips I find.

Patti J

Hi,
Eat more vegetables. That is what my dietitian told me to do.
Stress less. 
Exercise.
Have little nap during the day.
Try to do everything you have always done. 
There is nothing you can do to prevent a recurrence. 
You just have to live your life.

Kiwi Angel

I tend to get up at 5am and go for a walk which I think helps me to sleep. I am only about to do round 2 of my chemo though so have yet to be plagued with hot flashes which may change things. 

Kiwi Angel

I am also primarily vegan which means I eat finerally quite healthily. 

iserbrown

Zoffiel

Stretch through the pain. Do not let it tie you in knots. Stand on one leg, walk, reach up and arch your back. Tai Chi. Yoga. Body Balance. Swim. Keep going even though you don't think it's working. Its working.  If you don't try it will be walking sticks, Zimmer frames and wheelchairs in quick succession. Try. Even if it makes you sore and exhausted. Try.

kmakm

I had embarked on a health kick before I was diagnosed and had lost 5kg. Since then I have lost another 15kg. This was partly stress and partly appetite loss, especially during chemotherapy. But also willpower and motivation because the plastic surgeon said I needed to get by BMI down to avoid wound problems in my bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction.

I stopped drinking alcohol and coffee pretty much immediately I got the callback from BreastScreen (with my family history I knew it would be cancer), with the very occasional exception. As my coffees were milky and wine is liquid sugar, these two things removed a lot kjs from my diet immediately.

Before chemotherapy I ramped up my exercise, brisk walking in a hilly area, progressing from 4kms to 5kms to 6kms and then 8kms a day.

I saw a dietician in the first week of my first cycle of chemo. She said to eat more protein than usual, lots of vegetables and some complex carbohydrates. Plus nuts and your two serves of fruit a day. Low fat dairy and no after dinner snacks.

I have also made a big effort with portion control and to not eat between dinner and breakfast. This meant I fasted 13 - 14 hours most days.

My weight loss has stalled for now. This is probably because my exercise slowed down during my last two chemo cycles, and because I'm now menopausal. However I am ramping it up again and am determined not to regain.

Once I am able post-operatively I will be adding weight bearing exercise, and some yoga or tai chi. The latter two for stress reduction, and all three to assist with managing Anastrozole side effects.

Once I'm able to cook again after the op I'm going to move the family to the Mediterranean diet. It's the one the experts say is the healthiest. But it also forbids nothing, which is the key for sustainable eating in human psychology. Everything in moderation.

I'll see my dietician again soon about tweaking my intake to suit this awful new world I will be in. I would dearly like to lose at least 10kgs more. I will drink coffee and alcohol again but it will be once a week. High days and holidays only.

I'm also planning to be more disciplined about meditating every day. There is a lot of stress in my life quite apart from BC and it helps.

Moderation, discipline and determination. Wish me luck!

kmakm

Also, while I agree with @PattiJ about living your life, I think it's worth pointing out that there is a link between exercise and recurrence. Studies have shown that you reduce your chance of recurrence with consistent regular exercise.

https://womhealth.org.au/conditions-and-treatments/study-finds-exercise-reduces-breast-cancer-recurrence

Alcohol consumption has also been linked to breast cancer recurrence, though not as conclusively.

https://www.cancervic.org.au/about/media-releases/2017-media-releases/may-2017/moderate-drinking-may-increase-risk-of-breast-cancer-returning.html

Lots of other articles are a quick Google away.

Patti J

Wow! It would be good if we could believe everything we read. 
I have had a breast cancer recurrence after fifteen years post mastectomy, reconstruction, chemotherapy, tamoxifen. 
I have always done heaps of exercise. Some studies also say that being overweight can increase the risk of breast cancer. I am not overweight. Some studies say that breast feeding decreases the risk of breast cancer. I breast fed my son.
Dr. Google is great. Just don't believe everything you read.
Grrr.... 

Patti J

I am so angry. I am shaking!!!

kmakm

Oh @PattiJ I am SO sorry! I didn't mean to upset you, or anyone. I know lots of people have recurrences no matter what they do or don't do. I was just trying to contriute to the discussion. I do apologise.

Deanne

Make small changes.
Set achievable goals.
Reward those achievements.
Eat healthy food you actually LIKE and ENJOY eating. (This may change and expand as your tastebuds adjust to less sugar etc)
Exercise consistently even if it is just a little at first. (Something little everyday is better than exhausting yourself and not being able to do anything for the next few days)
Find exercise that you ENJOY so it becomes a reward not a chore.
Compare only with your current self and celebrate any improvements. (Don’t keep knocking yourself by comparing to others or your pre-BC self).
Be kind to yourself.
It takes TIME.
It’s worth the effort.

I found my lump 5 years ago on the 29th of this month. I had a mastectomy, partial axillary clearance, chemo, radio and hormone therapy (Tamoxifen, then ovary removal and Femara on-going). Those small changes and efforts have given me a life I am proud of. In many ways I am an improved version of the pre-bc me. It did not happen overnight and there have been some backward movements at times. But even now I am seeing small improvements in my quality of life. Keep moving, keep trying and recognise every achievement no matter how small. 

iserbrown

Patti J said:

Hi,
Eat more vegetables. That is what my dietitian told me to do.
Stress less. 
Exercise.
Have little nap during the day.
Try to do everything you have always done. 
There is nothing you can do to prevent a recurrence. 
You just have to live your life.

I thought it was worth quoting your post as it is so apt

It really should be "No to Dr google" - we are all different in the way our bodies react, metabolise treatment et cetera  Who'd thought after 15 years!  My heart goes out to you!
When I was diagnosed I had confided in a male mate and sent him a text that said "Shite happens", he has been my best support ever!
Not sure where you are in the course of it all but hopefully you are beating it again!
Take care and sending you a virtual hug

Wildplaces

Wow, I am so grateful for each and everyone of your responses. Chuffed to bits. Thank you ALL!!

I meant to put this on the opening note but here it goes - I wish everyone who comes here to feel free to tell their story or plan - no judgments, please ONLY support. If nothing happens in terms of cancer recurrence AT LEAST we would be a little healthier in the rest of us and a little wiser in what we pass on to our families. 

I have a 5 cm tumour 1 node positive and I have had the treatment package of Mastectomy,chemo,rads and AI and I would honestly like to engage freely in talks about how to manage diet, exercise, time, and stress. I work and have an 8 year old son.
 
Patty I am deeply sorry you had a recurrence - no one has the book on this.
I have a friend in BC, Canada who had a recurrence - bone, pleura after 16 years, she is now 54 - still with the same oncologist and currently doing very well. She is one of the gutsiest ladies I know. About to take a cruise of the British Isles. May I ask do you have a local recurrence?? 

Kmakm - you are spot on about exercise - the evidence is more then Dr Google. It is robust.
I will post on it over the w/end. Well done on losing weight!! Please keep posting. We met over a Plastics thread so you know I can speak my mind. The stuff on alcohol is more complex and nowhere near as solid so I will leave that for later. Plus I can't part with my glass of wine for dinner - not everyday, but I grew up surrounded by grapes.

Deanne I love your post!! Stay with us please. I am on the GC. We are down at Kingscliff for end school holidays and I just visited Tropical world - apparently pineapple is great for coughs, about to dive into that. 

zoffitel - I heard of Tai Chi on YouTube - don't laugh but I am not sure I can classes time wise now and I would like to try it - any advice??

And no healthy yummy baking recipes that include abundant fruit and vegetables - no one bakes ??
Seriously....

Wildplaces

Kiwi Angel, 
I had to scroll up and read your post again - ok, it will get a little bumpy aka rough before it gets better but I am hoping I can say we all here for you. Ask us anything you need.
I love morning walks when I can fit them in!