Congratulations! You beat cancer and are now in remission. After celebrating the end of your cancer treatment, life can finally go back to normal. You are happy to say goodbye to whatever parade of side effects chemo has sent your way, and can go back to being your old self again.

Well, not exactly.  

Dealing with cancer treatment's side effects

Depending on your continuing course of treatment, you may be experiencing residual side effects such as those described in the WebMD article, Breast Cancer Survivors: Life After the Treatments End. Sometimes, these side effects linger for a long time after chemo and radiation are behind you.

Tiredness

Maybe you're in a hurry to have your life "go back to normal" and live exactly as you did before cancer. During treatment, you may have thought about many things that you wanted to do after your treatment was done, when you "got your energy back".

You may try to overcompensate and push yourself to do as much as you used to do, or even more, attempting to catch up on the life that you once feared you may lose. You may try to do too much and then fall flat on your face. Or on your back, as one breast cancer survivor experienced during a long-awaited trip to a trampoline park.

You may find you don’t have the energy to do everything you used to before cancer treatment. You may tire out doing much less than what you used to, and this may be really hard to accept. This Cancer.org article goes into this phenomenon in detail.

Forgetfulness

You may be experiencing the mental fogginess known as chemo brain, and end up forgetting major things. You may be struggling to get back up-to-speed at work and feeling like you're not cutting it. Or you may be trying to make it back into the work world if you were unable to work during your treatments. Friends and family may get angry at you for forgetting important events.

One survivor forgot which locker was hers at the gym. She stood in her towel, dripping wet from a shower, frantically jiggling the lock, wondering why her locker combination wasn’t working. After a maintenance member clipped her lock, she saw that the stuff wasn’t hers—she was mortified. She ended up using a lock with a key after that.

You may wonder if it is all in your mind. You're not alone. The forums on breastcancer.org, especially this one on chemo brain, will attest to that.

Depression

You may get depressed and wonder whether going through all of the treatment was worth it, especially if the side effects you are experiencing are greatly affecting your quality of life. A part of you may feel survivor’s guilt as you think of others you know that haven’t been so lucky. Sometimes a person can get depressed if they can no longer work, as written in this Cancer Today magazine article.

Fertility Issues

If chemo did a number on your ovaries, you may be going through medical menopause and coping with intense hot flashes that may flare up as you go to sleep at night. If you haven’t had children, you may have to come to terms with your fertility door being slammed shut much earlier than you thought. Those who go through premature menopause often experience intense hot flashes. Along with menopause often comes weight gain. Articles, such as this one on the effects of cancer treatment on fertility can be found on the information packed breastcancer.org website. This one on the Susan G. Komen website geared towards younger women can also help.

Aches and Pains

After going through what one survivor described as the "nap vortex"—having to nap for long periods a few days after her chemo treatments—muscles can begin to ache. The aches can last for a while after treatment. Depending on the follow-up care prescribed to you, the hormonal or targeted therapies you may receive after chemo and radiation may cause pain in joints and bones, as described in this Breastcancer.org article. One survivor whose aromatase inhibitors contributed to her knee pain tried to resume inline skating, an activity she once enjoyed. Because she could no longer bend her knees properly, she was unable to.

Fear of Recurrence

You have finished your course of treatment: lumpectomy, mastectomy, chemo, reconstruction, radiation or some combination thereof. Your oncologist or surgeon may say “See you in six months.” It doesn’t provide the comfort and security you would expect. Instead, you may feel alone and scared.  Although you may be happy and relieved to be done with your treatment regimen, you may feel surprisingly sad. This may be because you may miss being looked after by your cancer fighting medical team and meeting other patients who are you are on the cancer fighting  journey with. You may lose trust in your body and may feel that despite everything being okay at this time, that a recurrence is just around the corner. Articles like this one on the Cancer.net website describe this. The Life After Cancer page on the American Cancer Society’s website also addresses those feelings and challenges.

Coping tactics

It may be hard to determine the difference between a side effect and just a normal aspect of getting older. Always run your symptoms and problems by your oncologist, your doctor, and other members of your medical team; let them know what you are experiencing. They may be able to adjust your medication or provide other tips on relieving some of your side effects. Learning to accept that your side effects are real can be a struggle.

Learn to be patient with yourself, no matter what

Even for those who don’t have to deal with illness, the world can be a challenging place. After beating cancer, you realize that life is finite and you ultimately want to enjoy whatever time you have left on earth.  

One way is to learn to be a better friend to yourself. In her book Self-Compassion : Stop Beating Yourself Up And Leave Insecurity Behind, Kristin Neff describes the critical, negative thoughts people may have about themselves, often stemming from one’s culture or family of origin. Her book examines this and provides exercises on how to overcome negative self-talk.

Not everyone in one’s life is always going to be able to understand or cope with the internal challenges that another person is going through. Being a better friend to yourself may also help to alleviate some physical ailments. The book Radical Remission : Surviving Cancer Against All Odds by Kelly A. Turner and books by John E. Sarno regarding the mind-body connection can be eye-opening.

Facing Forward: Life After Cancer Treatment provides an overview of what to expect after cancer treatment. It is a book published by the National Cancer Institute, which you can print for yourself or others in your life.
 

Re-evaluate and reorganize your workload and life maintenance tasks

You may need more sleep each night and this could be frustrating—especially since there is no shortage of tasks to deal with in life. Try to give your body whatever sleep it needs, whenever you can.

Before treatment, you could manage to clean your house or apartment and do a number of other errands in one day. Now, you may tend to run out of energy quicker or need to take more breaks.

You may want to try cleaning different rooms and areas on different days. If friends and family members express a desire to help you, take them up on their offers and ask for help with specific tasks. Don’t forget to show some “Caring For Your Caregiver.” It may be a good idea to ask for, or accept the offers of, help from different people - not just one.

During especially busy times of the year, treat yourself to dropping off your laundry at a laundromat, if you can. Give yourself the gift of a few hours saved. Or if your friends or family ask what you want for your birthday or holidays, ask for help. There are also services that can provide help with tasks and can help with cleaning and other services, if that works within your budget.

For those who have to continue their treatments, you may be able to get your home cleaned for free by one of the maid services that volunteer with Cleaning For A Reason. This nonprofit organization provides free house cleaning service for women undergoing cancer treatment. You can check their website to see if they provide service for your area.
 

Use organizational tricks and hacks

Learning to adapt to your new normal can be a challenge. Use aids to make life a little easier. One person in medical menopause experiences a lot of hot flashes at night. She uses a remote control wireless light switch similar to this one for her fan, which she finds easier than having to walk over to the fan multiple times per night.

If you find yourself losing track of items more easily, you may want to invest in a set of clear, zippered pouches for small or easy-to-lose items. These are good for storing items in your handbag or work bag, providing you easy and quick access to items, and also for keeping them from getting lost in fabric folds or quietly rolling or falling away under a piece of furniture, or between cushions. In addition to many books on organization, using Pinterest can be a fun and interesting way to get ideas on organization, cancer recovery and more.
 

Keep track of medical and other appointments

You will still have follow-up medical appointments to keep track of. You also may want to get better at keeping track of and tackling other tasks, planning for future events, and keeping track of birthdays or whatever is important to you. You can use your computer and smartphone together to help keep on top of things.

If you are comfortable using technology, check out the video, How to Organize Your Life Using Google Calendar. You can learn to create different calendars for medical appointments, routine maintenance tasks, and anything else you feel is important for you to remember. You can also set alerts and reminders for each event. For information on technology-and paper-based methods of organizing and keeping track of it all, please refer to my post, "A Guide for Those Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer."

If you have the time and energy, there are always free computer classes and open labs available at branches throughout the New York Public Library system, in Staten Island, Manhattan and the Bronx. If you come to an open lab, you can come with any computer, phone, or e-reader, ask any questions you have and receive individual attention and instruction.

Speaking of time, if you are stressing about everything that is undone—or still undone—the Eisenhower Principle that Stephen R. Covey refers to in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change may put things into a unique perspective. If you are a person who is hard on themselves because you have goals you never seem to reach, then Jon Acuff’s ebook Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done can help you put your goals into a different perspective, in a funny way. Learn to make peace with the fact that some things will remain undone and remain on your to-do list from day to day—especially those things that aren’t "urgent" or "important."
 

Make time for joy and healthy new habits

You probably hear your oncologist and doctor talking about getting or staying active, and the cancer-preventing powers of exercise. Perhaps you must adapt to your changes. The book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise And The Brain by John J. Ratey makes a good case for the overall of exercise.  Whether you’ve been an avid exerciser or an exercise avoider, we have many exercise videos for you to check out, including those geared toward breast cancer recovery.

If you're feeling low on energy, check out our books on smoothies and energy-boosting recipes. There is a whole range of health-promoting foods, exercises and activities; experiment and see what is right for you.

Make time for your family, your friends, and your pets—in any order that is important to you. If you're experiencing side effects, contact your oncologist, regular doctor, and any other members of your cancer team. Make and keep the appointments you need to be well and stay well. You may be afraid of what they may say but, if there is a problem, better to catch it early.
 

Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses

Trying to manage your life in the era of your new normal can be a drag. Don’t forget to make time for fun. Read or listen to funny and uplifting books such as the ebook The Dog Lived (And So Will I) by Teresa J. Rhyne. This is the author’s story of fighting cancer, after her beagle does, and winning. In addition, this irreverent guide to life by Mark Manson may also put a smile on your face.

Look inside yourself and think about what is really important to you at this time in your life. What you once felt was so important may not feel so important anymore. Try to make time to go to events that interest you. Start or go back to doing hobbies that you have been putting off.  Engage in activities that support you in enjoying life, being inspired, and being your best self.
 

Connect with others: support groups and online communities

The strain of trying to live your best life after cancer may be hard. You may want to connect with others who understand because they have been through it or are going through it. If you feel the need to connect with other survivors, there are support groups for cancer survivors out there.

SHARE is a group that specializes in providing information and support groups for women with breast and ovarian cancer; they also have an available help line. The Support Group page on the Susan G. Komen website also has information and links to check out.

For young breast cancer survivors, there is the Young Survival Coalition. For all young cancer survivors, there is Stupid Cancer. Both sites are full of information, support, and opportunities for survivors to connect with one another, both online and in-person.

For online support groups, the American Cancer Society has a Cancer Survivors Network, where cancer survivors can connect with one another, and share resources and tips. "Meeting Others Like You", an article on the Livestrong website also contains information about the types of cancer support communities out there, and advice on choosing them.

Finally, there is the Cancer Support Community. On their Online Support Group page, survivors can join to connect with other survivors. They also host a weekly radio show called Frankly Speaking About Cancer that you can listen to online. Previous episodes are also available.  

Books

NYPL has many books, ebooks, and other materials on cancer, breast cancer recovery, life after breast cancer, and life after cancer treatment in general. Here are a few:

After Cancer Care: The Definitive Self-Care Guide to Getting and Staying Well for Patients After Cancer by Gerald M. Lemole

(ebook also available)

Written by doctors who have more than three decades of experience treating post-cancer-care patients, this book provides post-treatment guidance for cancer survivors. The doctors explain the concept of epigenetics and how lifestyle changes may help "turn on" cancer-fighting genes. Tips on keeping well and staying active are included, along with recipes.
 

The Cancer Survivor Handbook: Your Guide to Building a Life After Cancer by Beth Leibson

(ebook also available)

A guide to helping those done with treatment on managing the physical and emotional changes that may come along afterwards. Leibson, who went through cancer treatment herself, shares her story about her depression, exhaustion, memory issues, and fear that the cancer could return. Medical questions and professional work-related questions are also addressed.
 

Radical Remission : Surviving Cancer Against All Odds by Kelly A. Turner

(ebook also available)

Radical remission is the concept of someone recovering from cancer after conventional medicine has failed, or recovering even if they didn’t use conventional medicine. Dr. Kelly A. Turner—a researcher, lecturer, and counselor in integrative oncology—studied cases of radical remission from around the world. She went to ten countries and interviewed many holistic healers and individuals who experienced "radical remission." 

She discovered nine factors that each of the remission cases had in common, which played a part in each patient coming back from cancer. She shares them in this inspiring book.  

Then Came Life: Living With Courage, Spirit, and Gratitude After Breast Cancer by Geralyn Lucas

(Large print version also available)

The funny autobiography of Geralyn Lucas, a person who discovered she had breast cancer when she was 27 years old. Back then, she only hoped to live to age 30, and dreamed of being able to grow old enough to get wrinkles.

Years later, she is still alive and in her mid-forties, and has "miracle baby" kids: one, a rebellious preschooler boy and the other, a mean tween girl who is "the cool girl [she] never was."

Her marriage has become a challenge, and her dream job has moved across the country. Ironically, now she thinks about wanting botox. She elucidates on life after cancer and how one goes from being just happy to be alive, to being pulled back into the joys and annoyances of ordinary life. This book is a follow up to her book Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy.

What are your thoughts? Please feel free to leave a comment.