University of Qld study encourages women to exercise & pay attention to their nutrition.
Recruiting NOW until end of 2025. After being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, Sharon Oakley felt her world fall apart. Now, she's finding new strength through a UQ study examining how diet and exercise can enhance the wellbeing of women living with metastatic breast cancer. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-11/metastatic-breast-cancer-diet-exercise-study-queensland-uni/104444842 The program offers virtual sessions with dietitian and exercise experts, aiming to help women with metastatic breast cancer stay strong, informed and supported. The ‘Optimising care: Supporting you to be active and eat well’ study, aims to determine the effectiveness of an exercise and dietary program for women who have metastatic breast cancer Learn more, or sign up for the Optimising Care study here: https://public-health.uq.edu.au/optimising-care-supporting-you-be-active-and-eat-well ( BCNA Please copy & add to the private Mets Group)
Exercise and Eating
Does anyone have any good ideas for motivating me into a good eating and exercise plan. My head is all for it but the rest of me is not as motivated 🤪. I’m working full time and using Lite n Easy but I’m still eating the treats ( emotional eating) and not really exercising. I’m 57 and I’m too young to give up.....I’m ready for any suggestions xx
New Study for Stage 4
I was really heartened to read about this study in the metastatic area of breast cancer. "Stage Four Needs More" is a phrase I've heard a lot and I know several members here have voiced concerns about the number of studies being done. Hope it's of interest. K xox https://nbcf.org.au/research/our-research/search-our-research/can-exercise-and-diet-help-women-with-metastatic-breast-cancer/
Dysphagia
Hello all. So over christmas and new years i was in hospital again. I have been having some swallowing issues for about 6 months now and its seem to have got worse as the weeks go bye, when i mentioned it to my oncologist she said it could be a mixture of chemo, body being so weak, radiation to breasts and just the cancer itself. So she didnt do anything about it. Just before christmas we called ambulance to the house cause i was javing trouble breathing, long story short, ended up in hospital for unrelated issue, but refused to leave till i got answers about the throat issue. Did tests turns out i have Dysphagia......... does anyone else have this? I have been on puree diet since christmas and it is HARD. My husband and i are doing our best to make recipes up then hope once its pureed they taste good. I have ent specialist next week and i hipe hes able to give me some good news. Any help or recipes maybe you ate when you had trouble swallowing would be greatly appreciated. I can give my email address if it makes it easier or msg me privately. Thanks so much in advance.
Anxiety over secondary breast cancer
Hello everyone I am hoping for some sort of advice/reassurance as since my post-op consultation with the surgeon I have been in a complete state of anxiety and going through some real funky moods. Have been on anti anxiety meds for 10+ years so I may need to increase my dosage but before the cancer diagnosis it was very well controlled... At my first post-op consultation at the end of May (bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction with sentinel node removal), I was told by the surgeon that I did not respond to chemotherapy and that I may need further alternative chemotherapy treatment. I was also given the news that the sentinel node was positive even though in hospital I was told it was negative and because of that I would need an axillary node clearance in July. Later seeing the oncologist he stated that no further chemo would be necessary but that was before my second operation to remove the additional nodes. I got the results last Thursday from the axillary node clearance and had one positive node out of the six removed. So in total two out of seven nodes removed were now shown to be positive. During this consultation the surgeon again stated more chemo may be required but speak to the oncologist for further info. He also reiterated his view about the original chemotherapy not working..... I began freaking out again - internally because I tend to bottle things up and almost pretend to myself that I am not worried or concerned. Anyway, my thoughts at this moment in time are screw what the surgeon is saying, the oncologist is the one with the real knowledge/information on chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. I see him on Monday so I will get some further clarification then... In the meantime, what I really wanted to find out was what have others done to keep healthy during and since completing active treatment?? Have you managed to exercise, are you often doubting if you are doing the right thing to prevent secondaries. I am eating the right things. Am I being too hard on myself ?? I am worrying so much about secondaries and can't seem to get these thoughts out of my mind - is this common at this stage of the game?? I am seven months into active treatment - had chemotherapy, bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction and a recent axillary node clearance.. There is a now a slight lull now between my surgery and radiotherapy so I have had more time to be worrying about what the future holds... I work full time and find it really hard to fit in making healthy meals, keeping active and maintaining good energy levels. My anxiety seems to have escalated further because I am worrying about eating the wrong thing, not doing any exercise (because of feeling flat/down and no energy since my op on 15th July, not to mention the tactless remarks of the surgeon. I also have very painful cording after first and second op - worse since the lymph node removal). I have cut down on practically all of the naughty foods I used to consume before my diagnosis and have actually lost around 8 kilos since diagnosis and my BMI is within a healthy range. I now eat reasonably well trying to incorporate green veggies with most meals, very limited alcohol but I haven't managed much exercise in the past few weeks. Certainly I am not active on a regular daily basis, working in an office 40 hours per week. I am doing some aromatherapy when I can to try and calm me down which helps a bit with my anxiety. Sorry about my stupid ranting - I am probably not making any sense. It's all in my hands and I need to start exercising to increase my energy I guess, its when to fit it in though..... Many thanks for listening and hope you may have some suggestions or ideas to put this all into some perspective... Thanks Anne
Organic/Vegan Main meal ideas
Just want to invite people to share meal ideas/ recepies that work for them. Many of us have families with children and transitioning to this new life style is very difficult while adapting to many other aspects that come with being diagnosed with breast cancer. I thought we could start separate one for breakfast and lunch too. I find breakfast and lunches need to be quick and easy to keep them up in the long term. I have a family that loves flavour,eat large meals and like variety so this has certainly been a challenge to me. I find people start off on the vegan lifestyle very eager but struggle after about 1 month. This is a good reference to refer people to when they are starting out, or getting bored with their routine. Please be detailed with each idea so those of us not familiar will know how to prepare it from the entry.
Metastatic breast cancer
Hi Anne Maree, My name is Sam and I was diagnosed with metastases in Feb. I thought my cancer had disappeared back in 2000 after initial diagnosis and conventional treatment so it was a huge shock! My diet, qigong, good headspace and supplements have all contributed to my lungs clearing and the bone mets regressing. Long live vegans and good for you for starting this group!!!!!!