February 1, 2013 - Survivorship

February 1st - I have been asked to be involved in something new at Mayo, it's called Mayo Survivorship.  Basically it's working with breast cancer survivors that are through with all their treatments and surgery and looking at the aftercare of a cancer patient.  Through the breast clinic I have been set up with a series of appointments which are a massage, an appointment in the lymphedema clinic to assess how my shoulder/armpit are doing following the mastectomy and lymph node removal, an acupuncture appointment, an appointment with a wellness coach with a final appointment with a physician in the breast clinic. They are trying to determine if these therapies are important to a survivors health and to lessening the chances of recurrence.  I always wondered what happened when all the treatments, surgeries and appointments were through, what was I to do in regards to my nutrition, exercise, diet, etc?  The oncologist basically told me when I asked him about the topics, he said I should exercise, eat right and to let him know if I have any "new" pains that last greater than 72 hours.  Seems simple right...but it's not that simple when you don't feel as energetic as you used to, don't look the same  and your body is not what it was a year ago.  I hope that this program will aid other breast cancer survivors in their aftercare.