Christmas after cancer diagnosis

Christmas is a good time to be surrounded by loved ones or to feel loved by our global circle of friends and family.

The first Christmas after a cancer diagnosis can be an emotional time. We have done all we can (and continue to do so) to rid our bodies of cancer cells and make it much less likely to recur. At this time of the year the breast cancer sisterhood on dedicated breast cancer social media sites reaches out with good wishes and prayers and encouragements for things to get better or not to get worse. Some women post Christmas wishes, but their loneliness in their struggles can shine through.

We reflect on where we are, such as constantly watching out and being careful about activities. We can be easily frustrated about not being able to do things that we wouldn't have thought twice about before. We are worried about not having the same energy level as previously, or we may be battling side effects from medications. 

We reflect on where we were, and it fills us with astonishment how far we have come. Here are a few reflections on some practical experiences from the gym:

• needing a pillow under the seat belt straps to protect the scars when driving to the gym
• needing a shoe horn to put on weightlifting shoes, because bending forward after a mastectomy is painful
• needing great abdominal strength, so that lying down to rest and recuperate and getting back up is easy during the training 
• needing a helper to carry 10 kg weight plates and set up the rack to get ready for back squats every single time
• Being super, super grateful for the presence of other weightlifters, encouraging, helping, showing interest.

Christmas season is the time we can offer encouragement to other women with breast cancer, sharing our experiences and our paths, we can listen and offer our cyberspace presence, and hopefully alleviate some of the loneliness. 

We also need to give ourselves permission not to be Superwoman to clean, cook, bake, shop,  and prepare for the Christmas celebrations. Forge new experiences or new traditions by having faith in others and letting them do things their way!

Enjoying massage at 7 and 8 months post mastectomy

Getting a massage marks another milestone in recovery: I can lie on my front!
At 7 months post mastectomy I received my first full massage and know for sure I can lie on my front without discomfort. I didn't try before as I have been sleeping on my back since the mastectomy.
There are a couple of things to be aware of:
1. The fascia of the pectoralis muscles was removed during surgery. Thus deep tissue or trigger point massage is not a good idea on the chest! Lighter strokes and going deeper within the comfort level feels wonderful.
2. It is nice to have someone else do a scar massage. After initially worrying about it, I stopped doing anything special (other than acupuncture). My scars are healing very well. The scars are almost gone under the arms, where weightlifting training activates muscles. On the right side (where the lymph nodes were taken) it looks even better. This is the side where I regularly do self lymph drainage massage.
3. Seven months marks also the time when the edema on the right has resolved, or a fluid accumulation occurs rarely.  The first 6 months post mastectomy I had edema almost all the time, during the 7th month it was less frequent, and hopefully it has disappeared now at 8 months.  This was a considerable worry and annoyance as general guidelines point to weeks instead of months. But then again I was always hypersensitive about it ("excessively worried").
Looking forward to my next massage!