MAY 2015 NEWSLETTER Vol 1 Issue 3

Dragonfly Angel Wings -

Newsletter

EXERCISE AND THE RECOVERY PROCESS

BY CAROL MICHAELS

When some people hear the word exercise, they immediately think about gym class exer-

cise or boot camp. The exercises in the Recovery Fitness cancer exercise program are

gentle, fun and effective. They are not high intensity. Exercise might be the last thing on

your mind after a cancer diagnosis. A good fitness program will help you build up your

strength, improve your mood and will help your recovery. When can you start a fitness pro-

gram? You should start stretching exercises as soon as you get clearance from your doctor.

It is important to talk to your doctor before starting to exercise. This way you can determine

what program is right for you. Some exercises can be started soon after surgery while oth-

ers can be done right after the drains and stitches are removed.

Many areas of the body can be affected by breast cancer surgery and treatments. A lot of

people complain about stiffness, pulling, tightness, and having less flexibility. The muscles

and skin are shortened because of the surgery and there is scar tissue. Some of the nerves

may be irritated. You may feel burning, tingling, or numbness. We want to restore the patient

to a level of fitness that they enjoyed prior to the surgery. Initially, one of the goals of this

program is to restore a person's range of motion and break down scar tissue.

At the start of your exercise program the cancer exercise specialist will take range of

motion measurements of the shoulder. I take flexion, extension and abduction measure-

ments. For example the participant may begin with only 30 degrees of shoulder flexion and

after several months improve to 170 degrees of flexion range of motion. In an ideal situation

it is helpful to take these measurements prior to the surgery. This gives you a basis of com-

parison.

Once you have achieved an acceptable range of motion, it is usually necessary to contin-

ue your stretching program in order to maintain the ROM that has been achieved. If you

have radiation, stretching is very important to help keep your body flexible. Radiation typical-

ly causes additional tightening. Radiation can impact the affected area for up to 9 months or

longer after the treatment is finished. CONTINUED ON PG 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

EDITOR’S NOTE ..................... 2

THE FLUTTER ........................ 2

EXERCISE & RECOVERY ...... 3

POLAR PLUNGE ..................... 4

INSPIRATION CORNER ........ 5

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

Exercise & Recovery

How to be a survivor

Polar plunging—how

crazy can you get?

What do you want to see in a cancer survivorship website? Go to www.dragonflyangelsociety.com and tell us what you think!

As cancer survivors, we have to learn as we go what works for us, what doesn’t work and

how to handle our lives as survivors—whether we are still going through treatment or not.

I have been taking an AMAZING online writing class courtesy of Living Beyond Breast

Cancer. It has helped me open up and see how my feelings are sitting within me, in some

cases, trapped. One poem I wrote really opened up my eyes about survivorship:

HOW TO BE A SURVIVOR—ONE SURVIVOR’S ADVISE TO HERSELF

-BY DANA STEWART

You had cancer. Everyone knows. It’s okay.

It’s time to tell yourself it is okay too.

Moving on is a gift, not a chore.

You must learn to live with the fact that you

no doubt had a trauma in your life.

You faced the devil and came out on the

other side. Acknowledge it. Accept it.

You do not need to fear life because of the

fact that your cancer could return but not necessarily

truly will.

Live.

Maybe you have some words of wisdom to comfort yourself. We all have moments of ‘the

blahs’ as I call them. I doubt we will ever escape that—cancer survivors or not.

EDITOR’S NOTE

THE FLUTTER - HOW TO BE A SURVIVOR

We have energy—how about you? We

here at The Dragonfly Angel Society

sometimes find that the month of May

lacks energy. Lets think about it. The

year is almost half over at this point.

School is not necessarily out. The sun is

not necessarily shining everyday, and

the weather isn’t exactly all that warm

yet. Well, at least it is not for us here in

Chicago. We sometimes just find our-

selves in a teeny bit of a rut.

What better way to get going than to

focus on the word ENERGY and that is

what our May newsletter is all about.

We have great information in store for

you this month. We have our first guest

writer here to discuss getting back into

that exercise groove. We have a story

about co-founder Dana and one way she

got a bit of her groove back.

As we are typing, we are a bit more ex-

cited about May. We are looking for-

ward to re-energizing our hearts and

souls in preparation for summer which

is not too far away.

2

EXERCISE AND THE RECOVERY PROCESS—CONTINUED FROM PG 1

When some people hear the word exercise, they

immediately think about gym class exercise or boot camp.

Another reason to exercise is because posture is affected by

the surgery. After surgery to the chest it is common to want to

protect the area by rounding the shoulders forward. Winged

scapula and rounded shoulder are common. Kyphosis or a

head forward posture can be caused or exacerbated by tight

chest muscles. This can cause a chain reaction leading to

neck and back pain.

A mastectomy without reconstruction can cause imbalanc-

es. Some of the reconstruction processes change the muscle

placement, which can effect the body. It is important to stretch

the pectorals, which can tighten and strengthen the back and

core muscles. This is done to improve posture and decrease

the chance of back and neck pain. Good posture is important

for overall health. Poor posture can create imbalances in the

rest of the body. This can be detrimental to the back, knees

and other areas.

Your balance can also suffer after surgical procedures. We

find this to be especially acute with the TRAM flap procedure

where the rectus abdominus is altered. Poor core strength has

a negative effect on balance. You will have to learn how to

compensate for this change of muscle placement through a

series of exercises designed to strengthen the remaining mus-

cle such as the obliques. Balance can deteriorate as we age

even without a cancer diagnosis. Some of the chemotherapies

can affect your balance. Neuropathy can cause balance is-

sues. The good news is that balance training can counter some

of the effects of muscle imbalances and body asymmetry after

surgery. Balance training will help decrease the likeliness of

falling. Falls are dangerous for older women with weaker

bones and for cancer survivors. Cancer survivors are at higher

risk for osteoporosis due to chemo and cancer medications.

Being nervous about falling may cause you to withdraw from

daily activities and decrease quality of life. We need to exer-

cise to maintain or improve balance.

After you have achieved an acceptable ROM, posture, and

balance, strength training is added. Why do we need strength

training? After surgery the patient can lose strength in the

chest, shoulders, abdomen or back. We need to rebuild

strength in the areas affected and keep all the muscles in the

body strong and correct muscle imbalances. Strength training

improves balance and posture by improving core strength and

it improves quality of life by making activities easier and more

enjoyable and it reduces the chance of injury. It can empower

you physically and mentally.

Another reason to strength train is that chemotherapy can

cause weight gain. It can change the fat to muscle ratio.

Strength training improves the muscle to fat ratio. We need to

gain muscle mass, which can decrease during treatments and

strengthen bones. Having more muscle will increase metabo-

lism. A pound of muscle burns twice as many calories as a

pound of fat. So strength training is a great way to keep your

weight at a healthy level.

Many of the treatments can increase the risk for osteoporo-

sis. Strength training helps build strong bones. Osteoporosis

can be an issue and the exercises must take this into account.

You need to learn which exercises are contraindicated for oste-

oporosis. For example, you would not do an abdominal crunch

or extreme twisting movements. Before you can start to

strength train you must have upright posture, balance, good

rom and medical clearance.

Aerobic exercise is essential. That would include any

movement which elevates your heart rate. As soon as you

have medical clearance it is good to start walking. Chemother-

apy and radiation can cause fatigue. It may seem counterintui-

tive, but physical activity can help decrease fatigue and help

you improve your ability to tolerate treatments. Walking can

boost your energy. You might be able to walk only 1 house

distance at first. Every day try to walk further until you are able

to walk for a half hour to 45 minutes. Try to exercise when you

feel the least tired. You may feel exhausted at various times

during treatment and recovery especially during chemo or radi-

ation. When you feel better, try to do more. Ultimately the

workout will help energize you and ease the aches and pains.

Exercise is good for our emotional health. It is one thing

that you can control. It is one thing that you can do for your-

self. The studies are leading us to believe that exercise can

decrease the risk of recurrence. It is empowering. Physical

activity can decease depression and anxiety. Participants in

my program reduce stress, increase confidence and build posi-

tive health habits. The participants will also gain endurance,

and energy level and decrease fatigue, which may be caused

by treatments.

Carol Michaels is the founder and creator of Recov-

ery Fitness®, an exercise program designed to help

cancer patients recover from surgery and treat-

ments. Carol received her degree from the Wharton

School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is

certified by The Cancer Exercise Training Institute,

American Council on Exercise, American College of

Sports Medicine, Pilates certified, and is a member

of ACSM and IDEA.

You can find out more about her and the programs

she offers at: www.carolmichaelsfitness.com &

www.recoveryfitness.net

3

POLAR PLUNGE—IF YOU DARE

BY: DANA STEWART

Many of you are aware of LIFE IT UP 365! Which is the 365 day dare that myself

and breast cancer survivor buddy are doing in 2015. We have dared ourselves to try some-

thing new every day for a full year. It has been an amazing ride so far and we are only a third

of the way done with the year. If you haven’t already, you can catch us on our Facebook page

and follow our daily adventures. Day 60 was our craziest day yet. We did something, that at

least for me, would have been something I would have never dared try before—POLAR

PLUNGE!

I refuse to give cancer credit. It doesn’t deserve anything in terms of an acknowl-

edgement or a kudos, but sometimes I find myself thanking it. Not in a sense you would

think but a thank you because it provided a wake up call to me—GET UP AND LIVE YOUR

LIFE! The message was clear. Do not wait. Do not wait to live and do not wait to do those

things you always wanted. It’s not morbid. It is just a fact. What are you waiting for?

To me, part of the cancer survivorship process is how you re-invent you. How you

re-energize you. How you get out there and just live you! When I think back to the point of

my post-cancer life when I realized I started to find my groove, find my energy, and find my

way, it comes back to LIFE IT UP 365! DAY 60—THE POLAR PLUNGE.

So I ask you, in fact I dare you—what is the one thing you have always wanted to do

but didn’t think you could? Or maybe it was something you didn’t have the time for. This

doesn’t have to be anything extreme or cost lots of money. Or perhaps you have had your

moment. We would love to know what it is! Maybe it will provide some inspiration to anoth-

er survivor.

Re-energize. Re-focus. Live that precious life!

Comments or feedback? Dana Stewart can be reached at

dstewart@dragonflyangelsociety.com

4

LIFE IT UP 365!

Dana and Colleen’s Day

60—POLAR PLUNGE

It was wet. It was a tad

cold. It was crazy. AND?

We DID IT!!! Thanks to

all supported us and

helped raise over $600

for Special Olympics!

Courtesy of LIFEITUP365!

What do you want to see in a cancer survivorship website? Go to www.dragonflyangelsociety.com and tell us what you think!

Energy is needed for everything—for you, for others, or for the

things you use. Often times, energy is wasted on things that can

not be controlled—What if cancer comes back? What will hap-

pen to me? What will I do? Energy is too precious to be used this

way. May is all about re-directing that energy and re-energizing

us!

“Release today. Let tomorrow start a new day.” - UNKNOWN

How will you re-energize?

ENERGIZE.

5

The Dragonfly Angel Society

7316 Hartford Rd

Downers Grove, IL 60516

www.dragonflyangelsociety.com

E-Mail: dstewart@dragonflyangelsociety.com

sstewart@dragonflyangelsociety.com