It will take some time to recover from the physical and emotional changes caused by your treatment. Side effects can vary. Some people will experience just a few side effects, while others will have more.
Learn more about:
- Looking after yourself
- Lymphoedema
- Cording
- Nerve pain
- Hair loss
- Thinking and memory changes
- Breast prostheses
- Changes to body image and sexuality
- Menopause and infertility
Looking after yourself
Cancer can cause physical and emotional strain, so it’s important to look after your wellbeing. Cancer Council has free booklets and programs to help you during and after treatment.
Call 13 11 20 to find out more, or see Managing cancer side effects, Exercise for people living with cancer, Complementary therapies, Emotions and cancer, Nutrition and cancer, Sex, intimacy and cancer, Fertility and cancer, and Living well after cancer.
How staying active can help
You may think it’s important to rest during treatment and recovery, but research shows that exercise benefits most people at this time. There is also strong evidence that exercise can reduce the risk of breast cancer returning. Being active can also help manage side effects such as tiredness, improve circulation, boost mood, and speed up recovery. Exercise reduces the risk of weight gain, which is associated with some treatments. An accredited exercise physiologist or physiotherapist can develop a program to suit you.
Feelings of loss and change
It’s common to feel emotional after a cancer diagnosis. You may feel a sense of grief or loss – for your health and wellbeing, your dreams or freedoms, even what you can wear.
Grief can feel like waves of sadness or being teary, and usually settles over time. The busyness of cancer treatment may mean you do not feel grief until it is over. If concerned, call Cancer Council 13 11 20 to talk to someone about how you are feeling.
For more on this see Emotions and cancer.
More resources
Dr Diana Adams, Medical Oncologist, Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre, NSW; Prof Bruce Mann, Specialist Breast Surgeon and Director, Breast Cancer Services, The Royal Melbourne and The Royal Women’s Hospitals, VIC; Dr Shagun Aggarwal, Specialist Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Prince of Wales, Sydney Children’s and Royal Hospital for Women, NSW; Andrea Concannon, consumer; Jenny Gilchrist, Nurse Practitioner Breast Oncology, Macquarie University Hospital, NSW; Monica Graham, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Natasha Keir, Nurse Practitioner Breast Oncology, GenesisCare, QLD; Dr Bronwyn Kennedy, Breast Physician, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, NSW; Lisa Montgomery, consumer; A/Prof Sanjay Warrier, Specialist Breast Surgeon, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Dr Janice Yeh, Radiation Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC.
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