Thriving After Breast Cancer Essential Healing Exercises for Body and Mind

BEFORE YOU BEGIN By choosing this program you are honoring the needs of your body and making a commitment to the quality of your life. You have chosen to thrive. I salute you and I support you. I want you to have the safest and most pleasurable experience possible when you participate in the Focus on Healing exercise program. As breast cancer survivors, we have unique needs and concerns. Some of these are physical and some are emotional. But none are a reason to avoid exercise. In fact, regular exercise can help with everything you feel and do. It can make you stronger and more flexible. It can relieve tension, elevate your mood, and give you a chance to celebrate and express your femininity. However, you must take your individual needs into consideration and exercise with care. Your physiology has been changed by the type and extent of the surgery you have undergone. Lumpectomy, mastectomy, node dissection, and reconstruction all leave permanent imprints. Furthermore, your body may also be processing the radiation or chemotherapy that you received to treat your cancer. Perhaps it has been years since your surgery and you've been relatively inactive, or you are at risk for lymphedema--swelling that results from blockage in the lymphatic vessels--or have other health concerns. For these reasons it may be important to have a conversation with your doctor before you begin this or any other exercise program. If you are a recent survivor, you may begin doing the Focus on Healing exercises as soon as your surgical drain is removed with the approval of your doctor. The surgical drain is a tube the size of a drinking straw that's inserted into your side a few inches below the armpit to siphon off excess lymphatic fluid. It has a bulb on the bottom. Sometimes you get two of them, the second being placed in the chest wall. A drain is kept in the body anywhere from three days to a week on average, until your body makes an adjustment. Many surgeons have their patients begin doing simple arm movements during early recovery. These are extremely gentle and safe, as are the Focus on Healing exercises. Still, I recommend waiting until the drain is removed so that no unexpected complications occur at the site of your drain incision. It is a sensitive time and it is critical that you give your body the time to heal properly. ABOUT THE PROGRAMFocus on Healing was designed under the supervision of two gynecological surgeons, Marc Lebed, M.D., and Joel Lebed, D.O. Dr. Marc Lebed is currently the medical director of the program and ensures that it incorporates new advancements in medicine. The exercises are based on kinesiology (the science of movement), anatomy, and gentle ballet and jazz dance movements. Focus on Healing uses progressive patterns of passive and active arm movements to facilitate and improve your postoperative range of motion. It has been shown that these activities can also diminish your risk and incidence of lymphedema. In addition, lower-body exercises target muscles that enhance your posture and balance. The experience of doing the program is enjoyable and even sensual since it combines movement therapy with dance. Focus on Healing works many important areas in your neck, shoulders, back, chest, torso, arms, hands, and fingers. The illustrations opposite identify the names of the muscles that are being used and receive benefits. What kind of exercise should I do and what kind should I avoid? And when is the appropriate time for me to start exercising? Factors from your medical history that your physician will take into consideration include whether you are a recent or long-term survivor; whether you are currently undergoing chemo- or radiation therapy, your age, general health, and fitness; and whether you are a regular exerciser. How high can I lift my arm? And when? Your range of motion dictates the nature of the activities in which you can partiDavis, Sherry Lebed is the author of 'Thriving After Breast Cancer Essential Healing Exercises for Body and Mind', published 2002 under ISBN 9780767908467 and ISBN 0767908465.