Cancer Treatment: Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

Undergoing cancer treatment is challenging but taking steps to ensure you are maintaining a healthy lifestyle can make a world of difference in how you get through your cancer journey. Developing or continuing healthy habits will not only help you lessen the rigors of cancer treatment, but benefit you even after treatment is finished.

Try to choose to adopt a series of actions, behaviors, and attitudes that aim for a healthy lifestyle. Each individual is unique; each person’s cancer is different. You are the expert in your cancer experience in relation to how you feel, what is important to you, and what you want. Work with your health team to tailor steps to healthy living that will work for you.

Healthy Living During Cancer Treatment

During treatment, it’s important to try to maintain as a healthy a lifestyle as you can. What does this mean?

• Don’t smoke. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about quitting
• Get proper nutrition. This is essential as your body undergoes the rigors of treatment and exerts a lot of energy into healing and recovery. Taking steps to have a healthy diet will help you to have fuel and power to keep up your strength
• Exercise. Doctors encourage cancer patients to stay as active as possible. Be sure to talk to your doctor to learn how to best tailor your exercise regimen for you
• Pay attention to your emotional health. Getting a cancer diagnosis can be hard to handle. You may experience a rollercoaster of emotions throughout your treatment including fear, worry, sadness, anxiety, anger, and many more. However, there are many ways that can help you cope healthily with your emotions and cancer experience

Information provided by Cancer Support Community.