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Activity is really important to well-being,
and there actually is information that activity during cancer treatment can positively affect outcomes.
So you don't want to turn into a couch potato even if you feel really tired and don't feel
like getting up and doing things.
In some way, you need to look at that as a part of the cancer treatment program.
If you're on drugs like chemotherapy, you're not going to want to eat right.
You're just not going to feel hungry sometimes.
Foods that used to taste good might taste awful to you.
Getting enough fluids in might be hard.
So I would always recommend a referral to a nutritionist.
There might be a few days a week after chemo where you don't feel like eating, but how
do we support you in a healthy way?
Some people find that they're not as interested in food or that their appetite changes.
Others will find that food settles their stomach, so they'll eat too much and not often the
right things.
So it's important to try and pay attention to your diet to manage it for energy and to
manage it so that you don't end up either losing too much weight or gaining too much
weight while you're under treatment.
Many times, your physician and heatlhcare team will have a lot of good information about
this,and can give you a blueprint for how to be active and to eat well while you're
under treatment.
I can't stress enough the importance of a healthy lifestyle that includes physical activity
and diet, a little bit of exercise, maybe even while you're going through cancer treatment.
Any patient going through surgery should at least think about, "Do I need some physical
therapy to get strong again?
How do I trust my body when I'm on chemotherapy?
I probably am not going to be able to exercise as much as I used to or even walk up a few
flights of stairs."
But getting help from a physical therapist in advance is something that I strongly support.
What we know about exercise and activity is that it's good for health, and it's good for
people who have had cancers health as well.
There's emerging data that exercise, physical activity, maintaining a good body weight,
and nutrition can impact, in some cases, cancer recurrence and certainly a new cancer that
might show up years down the road.
After all, you didn't go through all of that cancer treatment to be at risk for another
cancer down the line, if there's something you can do to prevent or reduce the risk of
it.
So getting some physical activity, maintaining a good body weight, eating a healthy diet
that includes fruits and vegetables and whole grains, all of those are really important.
It also helps you feel better about yourself and makes you feel like you're getting back
to the health that you enjoyed before you had to go through the rigors of treatment.
So not only is it physically good, but it's mentally good, too.
The first thing you want to do when you finish treatment is celebrate the fact that you passed
a milestone.
But the next thing is you want to get your life back to where it was before you began
this journey, and often that involves ramping up your ability to exercise by retraining
again.
Many people find that they aren't able to be as active as they'd like to be or should
be for optimal health while they're under treatment.
And so getting some help with a prescription for a return to health is a really good idea.
And people can do that for you as a part of your health team.
That includes also good diet and changing your diet.
Often after you finish taking treatments, your diet will change as it did when you first started.
And transitioning to a healthy diet after treatment is something that a dietitian can
give you help with.
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