Exercise / Healthy Diet after BC

Thankyou all.  Glad I'm not the only one.  Most of the time these things don't worry me, but lets face it when you get down, things go wrong your not completely sane ... and these things get to you.  Like the vit C during chemo - a no no they said - of course this was halfway through my chemo and guess who took vit C???  They asked me at diagnosis about very few of my lifestyle habits apart from drinking/smoking and the never ending hormone replacement therapy??  How many years have they been studying the effects of Hormone replacement therapy, when will they get an answer.  And I have to say (as many others have) that my cancer came after a very stressful time in my life too.

I had wanted to start a topic on this. I know everybody says it's indiscriminate and it's just bad luck but I keep asking why it happened to me (although I am asking less now). I do accept that I was diagnosed with BC but I really want to try to work out why (ok I will try not to!) I find it hard that nobody has the answer, even our doctors would never ask us about our lifestyle etc and just treat us. It's left to me and myself to try to figure things out and I know i shouldn't too lol.

I do feel that I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle in 2016. I was a regular mum who works from home and I am a workaholic and a perfectionist. I survived on coffee and sugar (yes I do eat my veges hardly fruit), I sleep very little as I needed time to work. Life with two young kids is crazy. It's full on. I hardly exercise except walking my dog! I was very stressed with some work issues middle of last year and I have had a very emotional time with my pet's passing that I took many weeks to grieve over. In short 2016 is about the most stressful year I have ever had in my life! So I believe there is a reason, so many factors added up - diet, lifestyle, exercise and STRESS! In addition, I was an unhappy wife last year, lots of conflicts with hubby and was brooding over lots of issues in our marriage.

I definitely have made a radical change to my life now on top of treatment. I make sure I get enough sleep now 9pm-6am. I can't really exercise now cos I am a little tired, still recovering from mastectomy and have a port to my chest! I do walk daily if I can. I have gone as organic as I can, lots veges, some fruit, little meat and carbo. I try to have alkalising diet and finally started to use the alkaline water machine hubby bought many months back. Whether this is going to make a difference, I am not sure but I sure know i feel much better. Even my skin has become smoother and I think the diet is a positive step forward. And I learn to manage my stress as much as I can.

BC happened to me. I never ever expected this and there is no family history. Now I know it does not take any family history! I was 42 when diagnosed. I never had a mammogram before this and never knew the starting age to do that is 40!!! But I am also thankful for all the positive changes I have made to my life within a short time. And I hope to maintain this.

Well, once a while a little sweets will be a bonus to me. :)

TonyaM said:

I often wonder if it would be helpful to ask us questions at the time of our bc diagnosis. No doctor asked me anything eg. do you smoke? Drink?Had IVF? ever had mastitis?  ??

I'm really surprised that no doctor asked you those questions. My breast surgeon and my oncologist both asked me numerous questions - when did I start menstruating, how regular was my cycle, how long was I on the OC pill for, which OC pill did you take, had I ever taken any other hormone medication, how many pregnancies/miscarriages, at what age were my pregnancies, how long did I breastfeed, had I ever smoked, how much did I drink etc. I was told that the information was collected from all cancer patients to help to try and work out various risk factors and prognoses.
It's funny now but immediately after going through my pathology report and discussing whether or not to do chemo my oncologist hit me with the 1000 questions. Imagine being told how likely you are to die from breast cancer and then try to remember the name of the pill you were taking more than 30 years ago!
I could barely remember my own name!!

Gee, and this is what I don't like, is to see us all beat ourselves up over the WHY? what WE did or DIDN'T DO! As everyone who has ever had BC we have all seen the diversity of us all and yet none of us fit the CRITERIA of the experts?? exercise and a healthy diet are great just normally but has nothing to do with Breast Cancer and certainly doesn't have anything to do with recurrence. How do you explain the healthy people who get BC and change their diet up even MORE and get a recurrence?? its like seeing really fit people dropping dead of a heart attack?? NO SENSE! there are no common denominators and the more the EXPERTS come up with another millionth brilliant idea about what causes it, plummets every single one of us into DOUBT of what did WE DO WRONG!!! Ladies don't do it to yourselves 95% is random and it doesn't discriminate...live a healthy happy life that you want, that's the only key...whatever that looks like for you. Melinda xo

I agree,it's how we handle the stress because no life is stress free. I also agree that it's probably a chain of mishaps that lead to cancer. I liken it to air crash investigations where it's often a series of mistakes- if only the pilot stopped xyz...And how hard is it to budge some weight!! I'm supposed to lose 6k and its just not happening. Hats off to you Annedipa for losing 25k and don't feel guilty anymore about the cancer weight thing-it's rubbish. 
I've met so many women who went through IVF and now have bc- is this just co incidence? I often wonder if it would be helpful to ask us questions at the time of our bc diagnosis. No doctor asked me anything eg. do you smoke? Drink?Had IVF? ever had mastitis?  ??
Anyway, nice to chat about this topic and maybe one day it will be us women networking who put 2 and 2 together.We might have chemo brain but together we are one big collective genius!!

One day we will all know why cancer occurs but until then we have to live with what we know. And that is that healthy eating, an active body and brain, a reasonable level of happiness and periods of content combine for a better quality of life. I'm no doctor but I'd be prepared to lay bets that something as complex as cancer is the result of multiple trigger points. No life is entirely free of stress - accidents happen, kids get sick, relationships flounder, bosses go weird, parents die. A stress free life may not be possible - it's how we cope with it that may be more important. Sharing loads, delegating, getting time out, prioritising pleasure sometimes, breathing in life rather than just air. Most of us have learned to be better at this - living in and for the moment - since we were diagnosed. That's what we need to encourage in others. Without the over the top wake up call!

I, like most of us without a known genetic cause, will never know what caused my breast cancer. Nothing will change the fact that I had it and now live with a risk of recurrence.

I love that saying, 'don't look back, you're not going that way!' Since finishing treatment I have slowly, step by step, done what I can to improve my general health. I feel better for this (but not completely symptom or pain free). I believe it has helped to reduce the impact of treatment and hormonal issues (my cancer was hormone positive). I know it reduces my risk of other diseases. It has helped me enormously on a mental health basis. It reduces my stress levels and has opened up a new way of living for me.

Will diet and exercise make any difference to my chance of recurrence? I don't know. But I do know it is givng me a better quality of life right now and that makes it worth it for me. I think doing whatever helps you to have the best life possible right now is worthwhile. Feeling guilty or trying to work out why I got cancer in the first place is not helpful at all.

I'm looking forward and enjoying what I have right now. The walk up hill is challenging but the view makes it all worthwhile. This was my start to the day today. I am grateful to be able to do it. I know that in a heartbeat it can all change, but that just helps me to appreciate being here now. 

Thank you! The so called links with obesity that keep getting talked about are realy not helpful to those who have been diagnosed. I was/am obese. Well morbidly obese if I'm honest. But that was the only health issue i had. Cholesterol levels fine. Blood pressure normal. Blood sugar levels normal. So all the speculation about obesity and cancer does my head in at times. Did i cause it. Its my own fault im in this situation. Embarrassed to have to tell anyone that i had breast cancer because i assumed they would just think it was my own fault anyway for allowing myself to get so fat. Then i stop and remember i have 4 relatives with who had this before me. An aunt 2 cousins (mums side of the family) and my sister. Most of whom weren't overweight. What i did have though was an enourmous amount of stress in the years prior to my diagnosis. I dont know if being morbidly obese was the cause of my tnbc at 47. I dont know if the stress was a factor. I have never smoked. Only drink occasionally. Obesity is the only factor on the list that qualifies me other than my family history (brca-) but feeling guilty isnt helpful. I have tried to lead a healthier lifestyle since. In the year after my surgery i lost 25kg. I walked until my joints gave out. Then i swam. I still swim a few days a week and try to eat healthy. Some of the stresses of a few years back are resurfacing and the weight i lost is slowly creeping back on again. I really need to get back on a weight loss track but finding it really difficult.

Hi, like many others I am slim, don't smoke, minimal alcohol and have a healthy lifestyle. I haven't had a lot of stress either. But I did do 3 years of IVF which results in enormous hormonal ups and downs. I suspect my unsuccessful quest for a baby played a big part in my getting breast cancer. My IDC was 100% Er/Pr positive.
Jane xx