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| Health Tips for Breast Cancer Patient |
1 of the Health Tips for Breast Cancer Patients: Get Rest
One of the most important things you can do for yourself while fighting breast cancer is to get plenty of rest. Do your best to get a full night's sleep. And, if you feel tired during the day, take the time to sleep or rest to allow your body time to recover.
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2 of Health Tips for Breast Cancer Patients: Eat Healthy
Eat a health diet. The healthier your body is, the better prepared it will be to fight the breast cancer and to recover from breast cancer treatment. Be sure to include plenty of protein in your diet because the amino acids found in protein are used by your body to help repair damage.
Sometimes, eating can be a difficult task if you are undergoing treatments for breast cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and medications can adversely affect your appetite and digestive system. You might experience nausea, vomiting, changes in taste and smell, difficulty swallowing and chewing, constipation, and pain. If you are experiencing these problems, you need to take steps to increase your appetite and to make eating easier.
First, try to make mealtime enjoyable by eating with friends and family or making eating as comfortable as possible. If ok with your physician, you might also have a small glass of wine, a mixed drink, or a beer. To add variety for your taste buds and to make eating more enjoyable, try new foods or new recipes. Better yet, eat out more often, even if you just eat an appetizer. If you engage in mild exercise ? hour before you eat, it can also help increase your appetite. Of course, you should check with your doctor before starting any type of exercise routine. Anti-nausea medicine can also be helpful if you are vomiting or experiencing nausea.
It is also helpful if you prepare meals ahead of time while you are feeling better and freeze them. These meals can be easily reheated when you are not feeling well. You should also keep small snacks on hand to munch on when you are feeling good enough to eat. In fact, it is best to eat small meals or snacks frequently throughout the day than to eat large meals. All foods you purchase should be easy to prepare or should be ready to eat. You should also look for foods that are high in calories and protein in order to help keep your weight on. Even the fluids you consume should be high in calories and protein. If you are having a hard time chewing and swallowing, you should puree your foods or purchase foods that are easy to swallow, such as applesauce, soup, baby food, macaroni and cheese, pudding, and yogurt.
Additionally, there are a number of foods, herbs and vitamins which promote breast health. For information about these, please visit the breast health awareness resource page at Womans-Health.Net. |
3 of Health Tips for Breast Cancer Patients: Care for Your Skin
If you are undergoing external beam radiation, you may experience skin irritation or sensitivity. To assist with this problem, you should avoid using talcum powder, soaps, and deodorants. When you wash, be gentle and do not scrub or rub the area. Extreme hot or cold temperatures can also be problematic to your skin.
Therefore, tight or restrictive clothing can also aggravate your skin, as can nylon and synthetic materials. Wear loose clothing made of cotton instead. In addition, if you need to tape bandages to your skin, use paper tape rather than adhesive tape. |
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