After treatment

After the trauma of treatment, you can feel as though you’ve lost all confidence and you may feel physically and mentally broken.

Getting moving will help build your body confidence, and aid your physical recovery and mental wellbeing. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can leave you with long-term fatigue and side effects such as lymphoedema or neuropathy and you may experience muscle loss or weight gain.

We know from research that cancer patients typically become less active after their treatment, but movement is the best medicine at all stages of the cancer journey.

Things may not be the same as they were before, but try to think about the things you can do, not what you can’t. Be resilient, resourceful and flexible and keep an open mind.

Take acTion:

If you’ve had breast surgery, exercises for the upper body, chest and arms will help you regain strength and flexibility. Ask your breast-cancer nurse, or find exercises at breastcancercare.org.uk.

Gentle tummy workouts after any kind of abdominal surgery, whether it was gynaecological or bowel surgery, are important to rebuild your strength. Start with gentle Pilates-style moves – the kind of thing you’d do after pregnancy or a C-section. Try simple contractions of the tummy muscles and pelvic floor, knee rolls and pelvic tilts.

If you’ve had bowel surgery and have a colostomy bag, the Me+™ Recovery Programme is for people with a stoma.

Visit convatec.co.uk/meplus.

WhaT To WaTch:

If you develop any unusual joint or muscle pain, speak to your GP or oncologist. If you have lymphoedema, then wear your compression sleeve while doing exercise.