Your Body After Breast Cancer Treatment: Finding Comfort, Confidence, and a New Normal
Completing treatment for breast cancer can be relieving but it can also bring about a new set of challenges. Depending on the type of treatment that you have undergone, the challenges that you face may be different. It takes time to adjust to these changes and to be comfortable and confident in your own skin again. While it may feel overwhelming, it is possible to slowly adapt to the new normal.
Physical changes to your body
Mastectomy
For many breast cancer patients, mastectomy is a crucial part of treatment. Post-surgery, the appearance and sensations in your breast and body may undergo significant changes. There may also be scars and swelling or redness in the skin. This may affect a person's self confidence and body image. For some patients, they may opt to undergo breast reconstruction surgery, which aims to restore the appearance of the breast following the removal of breast tissue. Some patients may also opt to get breast implants.
After undergoing mastectomy, patients may also feel pain or discomfort around the breast, especially during the first few weeks of recovery. For these patients, specially-designed clothing such as bras for mastectomy patients, can help to ease some of the pain and discomfort.
Other breast cancer treatments
For some breast cancer patients, additional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be required. Physical changes due to chemotherapy include hair loss while radiation therapy may result in skin changes such as redness or darkening. Fortunately, these changes are temporary and should resolve after a period of time.
Emotional changes to your body
In addition to having to cope with the physical changes to the body, many breast cancer patients also have to deal with emotional stress. Many patients reported symptoms such as anxiety and depression, especially after a mastectomy. When left untreated, these psychological stresses can negatively impact one’s health, resulting in a weaker immune system.
There are mental health support options such as therapy that can help you manage emotional stress. It is normal to feel emotional distress from the cancer diagnosis or from the loss of your normal body appearance. Knowing there is someone who makes us feel heard and understood, can help us cope better with our struggles. It is possible to feel confident in your own skin again.
Adapting to a new normal
It will take time for you to feel “normal” again and it may not be a smooth journey. There will be moments where you feel confident and hopeful but there will be days where you feel anxious and uncertain. It is a challenging part of adjusting to life after breast cancer but you are not alone.
A breast cancer patient, Maeve, shared, “Take it one day at a time, get through the bad days and enjoy the good ones! At the end of this, you will have a new pair of eyes!”
Finding support from support groups or reading stories from other breast cancer patients who have gone through a similar experience can also help you feel less alone in your journey. Confidence can grow alongside scars, changes and imperfections. Your new normal does not have to look like your old normal to be beautiful.
This article is an educational collaboration with Our Cancer Stories and is not sponsored.
Writer: Darren Lam
Sources
Cancer Support Community. Mental Health and Cancer
Dinapoli, L., Colloca, G., Di Capua, B., & Valentini, V. (2021). Psychological aspects to consider in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Current Oncology Reports, 23(3), 38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-021-01049-3
Md Anderson. How to manage body image concerns after breast cancer surgery
