Recovery after Treatment

Swili

I wanted to ask people how long it took them to recover completely from the course of treatment that included surgery, chemo and radiation. 

I had two surgeries, lumpectomy in August and removal of margin in September.  I then had 8 courses of chemo, once every two weeks, including 4 adriamycin/cytoxen and 4 taxol.  I subsequently had 33 sessions of radiation in 7 weeks, big dose because I have huge boobs (!!) and am overweight.  I finished chemo in late January and radiation two weeks ago and am exhausted at night but ok in the morning.  I am exercising--doing about 30 to 40 minutes cardio about four times a week, a lot of walking, and some weights and abs when I can rustle up the energy (which is not often). 

I am trying to plan ahead (ha ha!) and I am interested to know about others' recoveries.  

Still tired--anyone with similar treatment protocol can say how long this lasted for them? 

I am still disoriented--my memory is not back to normal.  Any comments?

mizbabygirl4

Swili - sounds like you are doing great, considering all you have been through.

There is a book that discusses this very issue. It's called The Breast Cancer Survivor's Fitness Plan. One of the authors is a physician (from Harvard, I believe) who is a BC survivor herself. It's got lots of good info on recovering your strength.

Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Breast-Cancer-Survivors-Fitness-Plan/dp/0071465782/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240397132&sr=8-1

Janet 

abbadoodles

Boy, I think you are bouncing back fast!  Don't be too hard on yourself.  All those tx really deplete your reserves.  While you are exercising and eating right, don't forget to pamper yourself, too.  Maybe a mid-day nap would help?

I never had any memory issues so cannot comment on that.  About the only lingering effects I am having, two years later, are the still cycling of my eyelashes (fall out every three months) and watery eyes upon exertion or hitting the cold air.  I can live with that.  Sigh.  We all want to be back to normal right away.  Good luck to you for your continued progress.