Carol sometimes found it hard to maintain a healthy diet, especially with kids and while feeling tired.
Transcript
Yes, I did a lot of research on that too. I actually had tried to stop eating meat and I did for probably about 2 months but it was really hard when I was doing the chemo. Once I started the chemo, it was really hard because I was always nauseous, and it was hard to get the right proteins and stuff that would last long and so I wasn’t able to keep that up. But, on the Internet, there’s a lot of research from pretty respective areas that say that maybe red meat might not be the best to eat, so I try to stick to chicken and fish etc. I’m a little healthier, it’s hard with kids, but not as much sugar, not as much white flour, refined flours and stuff like that. But everything feels like it takes an extra effort to do.It feels like you’re in a pool and you’re walking, but the steps are really hard, and to swing your arms under water is that much harder and that’s what it feels like a lot of times. That everything is weighted down, so to do anything, takes more effort than it would normally.
I feel like I’m on a path. I don’t know if I’ve changed very much yet. I’m determined to live a healthier active lifestyle. If you do some reading, they say, keeping your optimal weight, keeping active are two big, big things in lowering the risk of having the cancer come back. I’m not living that as much as I would like right now, but, I would like to think that’s the chemo that’s preventing me, but we’ll see. Hopefully I will change my life in that way for the better.
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- Chemotherapy – CarolCarol felt very sick after the first chemotherapy, so the nurses advised her to take the anti-nausea medication for the next round.
- Chimiothérapie – CarolCarol a été très malade après son premier traitement de chimiothérapie. Les infirmières lui ont alors conseillé de prendre les médicaments contre la nausée pour le second traitement.
- Finding and sharing information – CarolCarol stopped searching on the Internet as she found the range of information too wide.
- Understanding the diagnosis – CarolCarol describes how medical breast cancer knowledge has increased but she is not fully reassured; there is still this knowing in her head that it could possible come back.
- Talking to children about cancer – CarolCarol has four children (between 6 and 11 years old). But it was her oldest daughter who was most aware of the possibility of dying.
- Physical activity and diet changes – CarolCarol sometimes found it hard to maintain a healthy diet, especially with kids and while feeling tired.
- Follow-up care and the risk of recurrence – CarolCarol had been told that she would be closely watched for 10 years. She felt this was a long time to live in a state of fearfulness.
- How it affects family and friends – CarolIt is not a big deal for Carol to go out in her local community.