So you've finished treatment, your hair is starting to grow back and the fog of chemotherapy is slowly starting to lift - what now? One of the issues all breast cancer survivors must deal with is the long-term side effects that can arise post therapy.
From a physical standpoint, your body has changed. The after effects of surgery can leave you with a stiff shoulder, so exercise is important in terms of regaining a full rage of motion again. You'll probably have to always take a little extra time with it when stretching in the future. Depending on how many lymph nodes you had removed, you may have to contend with lymphedema. Exercise and eating healthily are probably the best ways to deal with the physical side effects of surgery and radiation. Massage can be a good way to help with some of the scaring that may have occurred, limiting your physical motion.
If you had chemotherapy, you will have to contend with some long-term sided effects. Chemo brain is probably the most annoying of these. This is a decrease in the cognitive brain function, which may or may not improve over time. Another issue is fatigue, which will lessen over time. You may have gained some weight, so, again, exercise and diet changes can help you get back to a more comfortable weight. Bone loss is also an issue, especially when women are thrown into early menopause after chemo (yet another side effect). Taking calcium supplements will help with that. A chemotherapy called Adriamycin can cause damage to the heart.
Body image and intimacy are other issues and usually the hardest to talk about. After having surgery and treatments that are very invasive in addition to the feeling of distrust towards your own body for turning on you, it's no wonder that it takes a little time for a woman to feel good about sex again after having breast cancer. It's important to let your partner know how you are feeling if you are having issues of this type so that they don't take it personally and can give you the space you need to recover. Talking to a professional about any issues you may be having can help immensely during this time.
For younger breast cancer survivors, pregnancy is sometimes an issue if they had not yet had children. Survivors can struggle with the decision to have children after their diagnosis. On one hand, some women feel that they should not bring a child into the world if they are not completely certain they will be around to raise them. On the other hand, some feel that they can at least carry on their family heritage and give the child a few years of love and care in the event that the cancer comes back. Also, chemotherapy can cause you to lose your fertility, so if you think you may want to have children using a donor egg or in vitro fertilization, you will need to consider the risks associated with hormones that will be used to regulate the pregnancy.
Recovering from cancer can take time, but being aware of these potential long-term issues and being proactive with them can help make the recovery easier.
