Hi out there...I have just finished my last radiotherapy appointment following a mastectomy and immediate reconstruction in Feb (with sentinal node removal only - node was positive after final pathology although initial biopsy and frozen sample was clear but no auxillary dissection was done). Surgery was followed by 6 months chemo (AC & Taxol) and 28 radio sessions.I am exhausted, as I expected, and the last few weeks of radio really wore me down but my back muscles also feel really tight and sore which I think is giving me a fairly constant dull ache in my back, particularly at night. My joints ache a little and I just feel week and fragile. I am so keen to try and get fit and healthy again but am not sure how to get started because I feel so depleted at the moment. Would appreciate any advice/experiences on how you felt post treatment and what may or may not have worked in terms of getting yourself to a point of feeling normal again! I am really craving the feeling of having some energy and being able to feel confident in my body again. I know I've only JUST finished and need to rest for a few more weeks and be kind to myself...just don't want to feel like this for long!!Thanks all...Meg

Once feeling better and all healed find out if there is an encore program or something near you. You could get a gp management plan done and have a referral to an exercise physiologist once you feel ready. Failing that just start with 10 mins walking...and build up. You could do this morning and afternoon when feel ready then start increasing time. I also used to go to a warm pool and just do some walking or very light swimming. Little steps. I also found frequent rests when out...find a seat etc helps you to keep going. You'll get there. My upper back also ached a lot but has settled now. I wondered if it was all the resting ....standing to cook was agony. But it has gone now. Our muscles have been weakened by the surgery...gentle breast stroke has really helped mine.

Hi Meg,It is such a long process and you do just desperately want to start feeling better at the end of it. I had a mastectomy, partial node clearance, chemo and then radio finishing about this time of the year back in 2013. It does depend on your individual circumstances but I found I started to pick up about 4 weeks after I finished radio. As soon as my skin healed I started swimming. This really helped with the energy levels. Then I found I needed to exercise for short durations but everyday if I could. Early in the new year I started a pinc Pilates program. This helped a lot too.Fatigue was sporadic and on-going for quite a few months but with regular exercise I think it helped me to recover more quickly. You just need to listen to your body and build slowly. After a while I noticed that it was not the physical stuff that wore me out but the emotional or mental stresses. Exercise actually helped. I also concentrated on a very healthy diet. I figured my body needed nutritious food to help repair the damage that treatment had caused. Look after yourself, like you said, take it little by little. Getting some help from a professional (like an exercise physiologist) is a good idea too. You will have good days and days where you feel a bit disheartened by what seems like a backward step. But those not so good days or times will gradually get less and less. Patience and persistence will get you there. This is a great place for help and encouragement. Take care. Deanne xxx

Hi Meg, I'm still learning this new system, so I'm not sure when this was posted. I finished radio last April 2016 and after 3 weeks I was given the OK to head away in our caravan. I was feeling great, had some light excercise a to do and was ready to 'get better'. Not that easy....I developed a sore tummy which they are still trying to solve. Following a colonoscopy and gastroscope I was told I had chronic inflamed dueodem. Maybe caused by too much acid. Now the surgeon tells me I have low lactase in my system so I'm off lactose food for one month to see if that helps. Also I get very tired and also do a mediation every arvo, if I miss doing that I'm in bed by 9.30pm. So Meg, it's a long process. I managed to get through active treatment, chemo and radio ok, apart from getting shingles.So as Deanne suggests take it easy. Do only as much as you can. I also am expending pain in my back and aching in both breasts. I had a lumpectomy in my left breast. This did concern me but the good news is that my one year mammo and ultra sound last month was clear. Phew! Hope you make good progress, keep us posted.Anne-Marie

Thanks everyone, I think I will start swimming when my skin heals. It's really reassuring to know others experience a tough time with this...so easy to feel alone. Thanks xx

I would say start doing what you used to love doing, whether it be walking the dogs in the afternoons or hiking a favourite short route along a creek in a forest or going to a beach to walk along the shore. I find being in nature made me feel more 'normal' again.I did go to the local pool 3 times a week for a easy swim while I was going through chemo, this was extremely invigorating and made me feel in controll. I avoided the weeks my immunity was lowest and also avoided getting my head under the water. I could'nt swim during rads, but was back at it after treatment ended. When I got stronger I enrolled in PT for a couple of months and this too made me feel like I was getting back on track. I since stopped PT because i just can't afford it but have enrolled in the online bone clinic exercised classes (Onero) which I do 3 times a week to help build stronger bones (due to osteoperosis). This is a two year program and as you progress they send you the new videos over a period of 2 years to help you gradually build up your strenght. All in the comfort of your own home.I guess everyone will be different but do it gradually and start with what you loved doing before. Maybe even look into doing something you never tried before, like join a dragon boat team or a gym. Congratulations on finishing active treatment and all the best for the future x

Recovery post treatment | BCNA Online Network

Deanne
Member
9 years ago
Hi Meg,
It is such a long process and you do just desperately want to start feeling better at the end of it. I had a mastectomy, partial node clearance, chemo and then radio finishing about this time of the year back in 2013.

It does depend on your individual circumstances but I found I started to pick up about 4 weeks after I finished radio. As soon as my skin healed I started swimming. This really helped with the energy levels. Then I found I needed to exercise for short durations but everyday if I could. Early in the new year I started a pinc Pilates program. This helped a lot too.

Fatigue was sporadic and on-going for quite a few months but with regular exercise I think it helped me to recover more quickly. You just need to listen to your body and build slowly. After a while I noticed that it was not the physical stuff that wore me out but the emotional or mental stresses. Exercise actually helped.

I also concentrated on a very healthy diet. I figured my body needed nutritious food to help repair the damage that treatment had caused.

Look after yourself, like you said, take it little by little. Getting some help from a professional (like an exercise physiologist) is a good idea too. You will have good days and days where you feel a bit disheartened by what seems like a backward step. But those not so good days or times will gradually get less and less. Patience and persistence will get you there. This is a great place for help and encouragement. Take care. Deanne xxx
primek
Member
9 years ago
Once feeling better and all healed find out if there is an encore program or something near you. You could get a gp management plan done and have a referral to an exercise physiologist once you feel ready. Failing that just start with 10 mins walking...and build up. You could do this morning and afternoon when feel ready then start increasing time. I also used to go to a warm pool and just do some walking or very light swimming. Little steps. I also found frequent rests when out...find a seat etc helps you to keep going. You'll get there.

My upper back also ached a lot but has settled now. I wondered if it was all the resting ....standing to cook was agony. But it has gone now. Our muscles have been weakened by the surgery...gentle breast stroke has really helped mine.

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