Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis can change your life. During and after treatment, individuals with breast cancer experience various physical and emotional changes. Examples include fatigue, nausea, stress, menopausal symptoms, sexual side effects, and a negative body image.
Although it can be scary, monitoring for cancer recurrence is part of post-treatment care. Learn what it’s like to live with breast cancer by reading on.
Throughout therapy
Fatigue and nausea are among the many side effects of breast cancer therapy, which vary according on the type of treatment. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy are among possible forms of treatment.
Tiredness
This most common side effect of anticancer treatment is fatigue. Whereas normal fatigue is relieved through resting or taking it easy, the fatigue of having cancer is overwhelming and challenges everyday tasks. It also might last for some weeks once treatment has ended.
If you feel exhausted while receiving treatment for breast cancer, let your doctor know. To look for an underlying reason, such as anemia, which cancer or its treatments may make worse, they can arrange testing One
Health care providers may also advise changes in diet, pain management strategies, and other ways to improve and extend your sleep. Although this may seem counterintuitive, three to five hours of moderate exercise per week can reduce cancer-related fatigue.
Feeling nauseous
Another common side effect of breast cancer treatment is nausea, especially with chemotherapy. It is essential that you discuss the management of nausea with a healthcare professional. Vomiting can occur as a consequence, and malnutrition and dehydration can also ensue.
To reduce nausea, several drugs called antiemetics are available. Some may also want to ask about medical marijuana. Marijuana can be helpful for stimulating appetite and reducing nausea. Lozenges, ginger tea, or chews may help others.
Effects on Mental Health
Besides being physically challenging, breast cancer treatment can be mentally draining. People with breast cancer often experience stress, anxiety, and depression. You may worry about the cost of treatment, doubt the effectiveness of your therapy, or feel lonely because you do not have any social support.
It is important to manage medication side effects and take care of your physical well-being. Just remember to take care of your mental wellness.
Therapy is one common way people with breast cancer get help. You could find a therapist who focuses on chronic disease or cancer therapy. Some people need prescription medication, support groups composed of breast cancer patients, meditation, or journaling, writing, and exercise. If you feel useless or think about harming yourself call 988 or talk to your healthcare provider RIGHT NOW.
Following Therapy
People with breast cancer should be followed up after their treatment to ensure that the disease does not come back. There are new negative effects, termed late side effects, that can emerge months or even years after therapy. Others may remain.
Monitoring for Recurrence and Follow-up
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recommends standard testing and procedures. These measures continually monitor for breast cancer relapse.
Men
For men who have undergone lumpectomy to remove breast cancer, the American Society of Breast Cancerologists recommends (if feasible) that a yearly mammography be performed on the treated breast. In men with a history of breast cancer who have a genetic mutation that would increase their risk of getting breast cancer, a yearly mammography should be conducted on the contralateral (non-treated) breast.
Women
Women should see a doctor every three to six months for three years following the completion of therapy. Subsequently, experts suggest that women are screened annually for the following two years and then six to twelve months thereafter.
A healthcare provider will evaluate your underarms, chest wall, and breasts or chest, depending on whether you have had a mastectomy. In addition, they will search for
- Abdomen tenderness or pain
- Bone density and bone tenderness
- Changes in the heart
- Changes in the lung
- alterations in the nervous system
A gynaecologic examination will also be performed by a medical professional. Those who have undergone tamoxifen therapy should also be alert to a gynaecologic examination. This hormone therapy may increase the risk of endometrial cancer.
The mammography follows. Women who have been treated for breast cancer often receive a diagnostic mammogram annually for three to five years following treatment. They can then often switch to screening mammograms. A mastectomy may not be recommended following it. A physician might recommend an MRI based on a physical exam.
Routine follow-up procedures after breast cancer treatment do not involve further tests such as X-rays, CT scans, and PET scans in patients who are asymptomatic. If the person has symptoms or routine follow-up procedures indicate a recurrence of cancer, these tests may be advised.
Early Menopause
Soon after breast cancer treatment, it’s common to experience menopausal symptoms. Some of the possible signs may include:
- Hot flashes
- Night sweating
- Insomnia or inability to fall asleep
- Dry vagina or other vaginal changes
Once breast cancer treatment is administered, seeing a doctor should be highly recommended if these symptoms prevail. Following breast cancer therapy, HRT is not normally prescribed for early menopause and symptoms of menopause, following the completion of therapy for breast cancer. Recurrence is possible when using HRT, among other things. Mostly, physicians recommend alternative treatment combined with lifestyle changes.
Hot flashes can be reduced by antidepressants like serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs. These drugs also have their own unique side effects. Menopausal symptoms after the treatment often resolve spontaneously over time.
Side Effects of Sexual Activity
This results in physical sexual side effects together with psychological manifestations following your treatment for breast cancer. These may be as follows:
- Loss of sexual desire, or libido
- Dryness of the vagina
- Pain when having sex
- Self-esteem shifts
Many people feel humiliated and embarrassed, and do not know where to turn for help. Others may not know what types of help are available. They could feel that talking about sexual health is “a waste of time” for doctors and other healthcare providers. Healthcare providers must also be able to better make time to have these critical conversations with patients.
The quality of life after breast cancer is indeed closely associated with sexual health. To treat dryness and discomfort, a doctor might prescribe vaginal lubricants, moisturizers, and dilators. They might also advise pelvic floor exercises. Physical therapy of this nature is designed to condition the muscles that support the reproductive and urinary organs.
Taking care of emotional side effects is as important as taking care of physical ones. Therapy, support groups, and in-person or online sexual health programs are examples of behaviour treatments that might be helpful.
These resources help by:
- People’s education about their “new” bodies
- Re-establishment of their well-being
- Building self-esteem
- reducing sex-related tension and anxiety
- teaching them how to relate to partners
Men too experience side effects from breast cancer treatment, though much less is known about their results. Tamoxifen and other estrogenic-receptor-blocking drugs can lead to sexual dysfunction and hot flashes. See a doctor if you experience these or any other symptoms.
Image of the Body
Body image can be adversely affected by breast cancer, especially in those who have had mastectomies or breast removal surgery. Some report unpleasant feelings about the appearance of scars. Others describe themselves as incomplete, less feminine, less sexually desirable, or less attractive than they felt before surgery.
All these depend on an individual’s culture, support system, self-image before the operation, their partner’s attitude, and the social influence or pressure to have those feelings. The mastectomy patients also make very private and often difficult decisions. You might have to decide to go flat-that is, have mastectomy without reconstruction or prosthesis-or you may wear a prosthesis or padding or get breast reconstructive surgery.
After mastectomy surgery, you will most likely encounter puzzling emotions. Developing a relationship with other survivors of mastectomy can indeed be very helpful. A person who knows what to expect can indeed be useful. As you process through your feelings and thoughts, a professional therapist can even provide guidance.
Discovery of novel ways of connecting to the body is also affirming. Examples include dancing, running, yoga, meditation, painting, and objective scrutiny of one’s body physique in a mirror. Most important perhaps is to treat yourself with love and kindness while working with your changing body.
