Healing After Cancer Treatment
Sep/Wednesday/2008 05:44 PM Filed in: Healthy
and Fit After Cancer
Coming back after surgery, injury, illness,
chemotherapy, or radiation always seems to take
longer than we anticipate! Remembering a few key
principles will go a long way to helping you heal
faster and come back better than before! Dr. Julie
Silver’s books (Super Healing or
After Cancer Treatment: Heal Better,
Faster, Stronger) are great resources that give
extensive detail about why these factors are so
important and how to address them.
1. Sleep
2. Nutrition
3. Exercise
Sleeping is one of the most important factors in healing, as your body needs that time to recover and heal. Uninterrupted sleep of 7-8 hours, with little to no sleeping during the day are the recommendations. In addition, getting less sleep has been associated with a number of health problems, too numerous to mention here. The bottom line is to talk to your doctor and do whatever possible to sleep through the night.
Eating nutritious foods helps our bodies do the healing work needed within the cells. Healthy eating is never more important. See www.mypyramid.org for more information about what a healthy diet consists of.
Exercise is the most under-prescribed component of healing, but is probably the most important and beneficial. Therapeutic, cardiovascular exercise that gets your heart rate in your Target Heart Rate Zone (makes you breathe harder, breaking a sweat), is what can make a huge difference in energy levels, reduction of fatigue, and healing. Of course, one should always check with a doctor first. As you are able to progress from increasing daily activity, to walking for 20-30 minutes, exercise should progress to a more intense level for a minimum of 15-20 minutes at least 3 times each week, when possible. Oxygen consumption is increased and better utilized throughout the body to do a first class job of healing!
I had major surgery in August and can attest to the power of these three components. The first two (sleep and nutrition) are what most people think of for recovery. Exercise is almost never considered a major part of recovery in most people’s minds. I have to admit that in spite of being an exercise professional, and KNOWING this, I have been guilty of forgetting from time to time! I most notice the reduction in fatigue that comes from aerobic exercise. Exercise IS medicine, (www.exerciseismedicine.org) and can actually affect the other two categories in a positive way. More to come...
1. Sleep
2. Nutrition
3. Exercise
Sleeping is one of the most important factors in healing, as your body needs that time to recover and heal. Uninterrupted sleep of 7-8 hours, with little to no sleeping during the day are the recommendations. In addition, getting less sleep has been associated with a number of health problems, too numerous to mention here. The bottom line is to talk to your doctor and do whatever possible to sleep through the night.
Eating nutritious foods helps our bodies do the healing work needed within the cells. Healthy eating is never more important. See www.mypyramid.org for more information about what a healthy diet consists of.
Exercise is the most under-prescribed component of healing, but is probably the most important and beneficial. Therapeutic, cardiovascular exercise that gets your heart rate in your Target Heart Rate Zone (makes you breathe harder, breaking a sweat), is what can make a huge difference in energy levels, reduction of fatigue, and healing. Of course, one should always check with a doctor first. As you are able to progress from increasing daily activity, to walking for 20-30 minutes, exercise should progress to a more intense level for a minimum of 15-20 minutes at least 3 times each week, when possible. Oxygen consumption is increased and better utilized throughout the body to do a first class job of healing!
I had major surgery in August and can attest to the power of these three components. The first two (sleep and nutrition) are what most people think of for recovery. Exercise is almost never considered a major part of recovery in most people’s minds. I have to admit that in spite of being an exercise professional, and KNOWING this, I have been guilty of forgetting from time to time! I most notice the reduction in fatigue that comes from aerobic exercise. Exercise IS medicine, (www.exerciseismedicine.org) and can actually affect the other two categories in a positive way. More to come...