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.

Hi all - I have scanned the comments over time of this thread and have to wade in. I'm not going to be the peacemaker because as @Afraser says, we are all adults. But I will ask that we reboot the thinking to consider what makes this forum work best and the impact of the words we write.Here I see it's happened again: tone dominating content; misrepresentations and misinterpretations leading some to over reactions and then lashing out. 99% of the time this forum is positive, supportive, caring and a fabulous place for peers to share genuine wisdom through experience. We don't always have to have to last say. We don't always have to be right. We don't always have to agree. That's reality. That's the world we live in. Let's take it down a notch and think about how respectful interactions look and feel like and try to emulate that?Let's think about all the crap we have been forced to endure in this 'journey' and understand that really what unites us is far more amazing and profound than that which divides us!#justsaying :) :) :) :) :* :* :* :* :* :* Nikki

I for one, do not envy our hard working and dedicated moderators. They must sometimes feel as if they are trying to herd cats, or nail jelly to the wall...so difficult. In a group as diverse as ours, our only common ground being this wretched disease, opinions and personalities differ greatly. There has been discussion and difference of opinion on a number of matters, one of which is language. There are a number of us who are not averse to using very ripe language as a stress reducing tool, it is part of our normal vernacular. However, there are some, of a more delicate nature who are deeply offended by this. Balance has to be achieved. There are some who feel that more or less support in the way of separate groups for different demographics should be catered for...but where does it end? A group for younger folks (how about one for the oldies), those who feel there should be one for the childless, as they feel unincluded. One for Christians...how about the Muslims, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Agnostics etc... There has been discussion about costs of tests, treatments and drugs...who gets what at what price. Some rather iffy comments there too. Sometimes a person can get very enthusiastic and keen to share on something in particular, but it can come across as being somewhat zealous, and this can offend. I have, over the years, been doorknocked by groups of very nice, very zealous groups of people of a particular religious persuasion. They are deeply sure that if I would only read what they have to offer, I will gain Eternal Life. They are convinced that they are right and that my ignorance will be a death sentence to me. I make my choice and they make theirs. I feel as a group, we are all probably more informed than Joe Public on various matters relating to breast cancer and all it entails. We can indeed all read, and are (for good and bad), fully able to access all sorts of information via google. I found this group by googling "support groups online...breast cancer..Australia". So, one score in the positive for the Big G. Others have conferred with Dr Google to their detriment. They have looked up side effects of every drug recommended to them by their oncologists, to then go on and cherry pick what they will and won't have. Some have declined treatment and have chosen to eat kale and hop on the treadmill (so to speak). Some are happy with their decision, others have regretted it. There is no 100% right for everybody and no 100% wrong. We are all intelligent beings, and we each have to find our own path through this nightmare. We should feel free to express our individual opinions, but sometimes it's not what is said, but how it is done. and the old adage of "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" can apply. Thank goodness we are all so very different...it makes for a diverse and dynamic group.

Now this is what the Forum in all the time I've been here is about, @tonyaM @Deanne @Romla @Molly001 @Afraser @primek @Zoffiel @iserbrown and everyone else who have added in a very loving way here. I couldnt have said it better the way Marg @Zoffiel just posted and I completely reiterate this...for me I hate seeing people killing themselves believing IF they had just exercised more, ate differently or did things differently they wouldnt be on this bus. The truth is none of that is true...I also get for many it is a sense of control so doing all those things that THEY say to prevent makes them feel much more in control. Experience and not just my own has taught me that its just not true. My point was and still is just do the things that matter to you. All studies are just that minority, thats why there are sooo many things we can't have? or contribute lol. Hmmm Green Tea whoa!!!! I have drank that all my life, so I shouldnt have gotten it once let alone twice??I do share the thoughts of @zoffiel very much, I eat so well and on the days when my compromised body from chemo and meds allows me I will ride my exercise bike or go for a walk. I walk 10,000 everyday in my job. So for a treat last night I had icecream and chocolate woo hoo hahaha!!! because I deserved it and enjoyed it and its about living. Exercise is mandatory in this life for well being period...nothing to do with BC and Professionals will tell you that. Ladies I love a good recipe and have done a heap of things spent with my exercise physiologist for over a year. Ive done it all and Im in a great place....am I naive to think I wont fall 3rd time...hell no...Live the good life, it comes back to self....nurturing and loving who you are however that looks to you. Anyone who knows me here knows my comments come from a heartfelt and honest place. Ive spent many nights offering a kind word to help others through what is an extremely difficult journey...all because I know what those moments feel like. Much love everyone! Melinda xo@Molly001 I just wanted to say, you are an absolute love!! biggest of hugs to you sweet..I hope you are doing OK!

It has been very interesting reading everyone's posts.There is so much care for others displayed even though most of us are strangers to each other.My husband asked me to mention Kerryn McCann, the dual Commonwealth Games marathon runner who died from breast cancer nearly 10 years ago aged 41. How much more exercise could a person do? How much fitter could you be?

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

109 Replies

Patti_J
Member
8 years ago
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....
kmakm
Member
8 years ago
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.
kmakm
Member
8 years ago
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!
Zoffiel
Member
8 years ago
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.
iserbrown
Member
8 years ago
Kiwi_Angel
Member
8 years ago
I am also primarily vegan which means I eat finerally quite healthily.
Kiwi_Angel
Member
8 years ago
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.
Patti_J
Member
8 years ago
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.
Sister
Member
8 years ago
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.

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

109 Replies

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