ACADEMY PUBLIC POLICIES

Smoking

I’ve got breast cancer. Should I stop smoking?

Whilst the strict medical answer to this is going to be ‘yes’, it is not quite that simple. If you have breast cancer, then you may want to adopt a new approach to life in general which could include giving up smoking. But while it is clear that smoking is a major cause of lung cancer and heart disease, there is no evidence that it causes breast cancer or will affect the chances of your breast cancer coming back. As well as this the stress of giving up on top of the stress of coping with a diagnosis and treatment can make it a big extra burden you might not feel you can face just now – and if you don’t succeed, you may feel even worse. Some people find that while having chemotherapy they go off smoking anyway. If you need help to give up, talk to your doctor.

Exercise

Should I be taking exercise during treatment and after it has

finished?

Exercise is good to stimulate the heart and to tone up flabby muscle, but if you are not used to exercising regularly, you should be careful. Don’t start to do too much too soon, either during your treatment or afterwards, as you do not want to tire yourself out. Gentle, regular exercise throughout your treatment and beyond is far better for your body than sudden, strenuous activity when treatment is over. If you are used to doing regular exercise, gym workouts or playing team sports, you may need to reduce what you do while having treatment and then increase slowly as side effects ease. It is a good idea to take advice from your oncologist, breast care nurse or a fitness professional about this.

Research is suggesting that taking exercise after breast cancer may improve the chances of it not coming back, so this is another reason why regular exercise is a good idea.

I am nearly finished with my treatment. Are there any forms of exercise which are better than others for me to take up now?

It is well known that swimming is a good way of exercising your whole body. However, you should avoid swimming if, for example, you have recently completed a course of radiotherapy – your skin will be sensitive on the part of your body that was treated, and chlorine could make any skin reaction to treatment worse. Some gym activities might be good to help you build up muscle tone again but you should try to find a balance between this type of exercise and pushing yourself too hard.

In general, if you are used to doing one particular type of exercise, then you may wish to continue with it. However, you might need to modify how much you do to take account of the fact that your body is not quite back to its usual state. Check with your doctor or breast care nurse before doing any exercise that involves heavy lifting or shoulder movements on the side of your auxiliary surgery.

The Sun

Can I sit out in the sun after I’ve had breast cancer?

Yes you can, but do be careful. If you have had radiotherapy, the area treated will be much more sensitive to sun and you can easily burn. Use a high factor sun block and keep the areas where you had treatment covered during the hottest times of the day.

Can I swim in the sea or a pool if it is sunny?

If you are swimming when there is strong sunlight, you should put on a waterproof sun block and then cover up any treated area if possible. For example, you could wear a T-shirt. Better still, avoid the strongest sunlight. Remember to take care even if it is cloudy, as the sun’s rays still filter through.