If you know someone who has finished BC treatment and feels sorta 'out there' and abandoned, chances are her dr. didn't give her anything to do. I was told, "See you in six months," and left on my own. After nearly a year of frequently (like daily) dealing with BC and all the stuff that accompanies it, not having something to do with it and about it is hard - and the dr's don't do a thing to prepare us for the transition...at least mine didn't.
While I was waiting I read Mamm, a magazine devoted to BC, before, after and during. It's lead article was about exercise and it's importance after treatment finishes. Because you sill have a bunch of physical, as well as psychological stuff to deal with, and exercise helps on all fronts. In the article the author said that dr's neglect to tell patients about the value of exercise and, as patients, we need to be proactive about our health care. You got that right.
I'm working with a PT (for my hip) and a trainer (for the rest of me) because my body is falling apart and I have to do something or else by next year I won't be able to get off the pot...literally. Chemotherapy must do something to your muscles, or maybe it's just being wound up and tense all those months while your doing treatment. I don't know, but my doctors didn't tell me that I should exercise, I just had to figure it out for myself. That's ok for me, I'm doing fine, but what about your elderly aunt or mom, who doesn't think that way and no one told her she would seize up unless she moved? If you go with her to the dr, ask about exercise, sometimes we listen better to someone in a white coat than we do to family or friends...even when we all say the same thing.
If you are interested in learning more about the advances in BC the Cancer Blog has this info. "Join Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) for a free educational teleconference titled Medical and Quality-of-Life Updates from the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
The teleconference will be held on Monday, June 11, 2007 at 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. (EDT). You can participate by using any telephone or by computer using Real Network Player or Windows Media Player. Register online at www.lbbc.com or call 610-645-4567.
This teleconference brings to you groundbreaking research presented at the largest annual conference of cancer professionals in the United States. Some topics discussed will be:
- Advances in surgical, hormonal and chemotherapy treatments
- Using diet and nutrition to improve quality of life
- Clinical trials measuring the long-term impact of treatment on health and well-being
- New information on how to treat and manage metastatic breast cancer
Following the speaker presentation there will be an interactive question and answer session.
No comments:
Post a Comment