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Wellness

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Wellness involves doing your best to be as healthy as you can. Consider creating your own wellness plan from the following tips:

  • Do what you can to keep a positive attitude. 
    • It makes life easier.
    • A positive attitude also encourages you to seek appropriate medical care and to follow treatment guidelines. 
    • A positive attitude recognizes that the old cliche is true: the glass is both half full and half empty all the time. Common wisdom is that keeping the overview helps, particularly if you focus on the half full side. 
    • To learn how to keep a positive attitude, click here.
  • Be assertive about your needs. Assertiveness can be learned.
  • Be an active patient - involved in your health care. Research shows that the more involved you are in your health care, the better the results and the more satisfied you are likely to feel.
  • Eat well.
    • Eating healthy will also help you regain your strength and reduce the chance of a recurrence. It may help to think of every bite you eat as an investment in your health.
    • Ask your doctor whether there is a specific diet that is best to fight the disease with which you were diagnosed. For instance, the American Cancer Society has developed diet guidelines that may help reduce the risk of cancer:
    • Eat a plant-based diet and have at least 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables daily. Try to include beans in your diet, and eat whole grains (such as cereals, breads, and pasta) several times daily.
    • Choose foods low in fat and low in salt.
    • Get to and stay at a healthy weight.
    • The more you do for your body, the better you'll feel- and the stronger it will be to help fight recurrence or other health conditions.
  • Exercise. 
    • Exercise your body. You don't have to join a gym to exercise. Even walking helps. 
      • Exercise helps relieve emotions such as anxiety and depression, helps relieve fatigue and is good for your immune system, which as you know, helps fight disease.
      • Consider doing moderate exercise on a daily basis such as walking, biking, or swimming for about 30 minutes every - or almost everyday.
    • Keep your brain fit. Free mental workouts at available at Games.AARP.org offsite link among other places.
  • Get rest, including sleep. For information about sleep, click here.
  • Take care of your body.
    • Watch for new symptoms or changes in your body. Ongoing problems or changes should be reported to your doctor.
    • Oral care is important to avoid unnecessary infections.
    • Foot care helps keep your feet healthy.
    • Take care of your mouth. Infections in the mouth can spread through the body.
    • If you are overweight, do what you can to lose the excess pounds. (For tips about losing weight, click here.)
  • Balance work and pleasure, including entertainment
  • Do what you can to avoid infection. For tips, click here.
  • Express your emotions. Don't keep them bottled up. You can write a journal, create art, communicate with friends and family, other people going through the same thing you're going through and/or with professionals. 
    • If depression shows up, speak with your doctor about how to treat it. Our article about Depression lists the signs to watch for, as well as what to do if you experience depression.
    • Also learn how to cope with the emotions that can arise such as anxiety and panic attacks. Anxiety often shows up before a follow-up exam, while waiting for test results, or near anniversaries.
    • If you need assistance in any of these areas, there are experts to help.
    • For information about various emotions that are likely to surface on the journey after a diagnosis, and how to cope with them, click here.
  • Avoid unnecessary stress. Learn how to cope with stress you can't avoid. Relaxation exercises can help. (For more information, see:
  • Keep in mind that you are not your disease.
  • Use alcohol only in moderationResearch shows that drinking alcohol increases your chances of getting certain types of diseases, including different cancers.
  • Eliminate smoke.
    • If you smoke, quit. As you are already aware, smoking is awful for your health. Research shows that the more support you have in quitting smoking, the greater your chance for success. Ask your doctor, nurse, social worker, or hospital about available programs, or call the Smoking Quitline at 877.44.U.QUIT (877.448.7848).  For additional tips for quitting smoking, click here.
    • If you are subjected to second hand smoke at home or at work, do whatever you can to change the situation. You can ask the person not to smoke around you or to smoke outside. At work you can ask that your work station be moved.
  • Do what you reasonably can to turn your home and work space into a healing enviornment.
  • Seek fulfillment in life. For tips, click here.

NOTE:

  • There are trackers to make it easier to live healthier. For instance, see My FitnessPal.com offsite link (requires free registration.)
  • For wellness tips while receiving chemotherapy treatment, click here.
  • Consider carrying medical i.d. "just in case" there is a medical emergency and you become unable to communicate.

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