Plan meals, snacks and food shopping so you have a well-balanced diet most of the time.

• To learn how to meet your nutrition needs and manage your weight, talk with a nutritionist or dietitian.
• Cooking and eating healthy foods with a friend or partner can be encouraging and enjoyable.

Doing things that give you pleasure can renew your self-esteem, help ease stress and improve your mood.

• Get enough sleep.
  
  • Keep to regular bedtime and wake-up hours.
  • Adjust your bedroom environment for quiet and calm.
• Plan time to enjoy yourself.
• Create a list of what makes you feel good, such as a manicure, relaxing in a bubble bath or working in the garden.
  
  • When you need to relieve stress, choose a feel-good activity from your list.
• Studies show that massage helps with anxiety, fatigue and pain. Look for a licensed massage therapist who has experience with people affected by breast cancer.
  
  • To find a qualified massage therapist in your area, visit the American Massage Therapy Association at amtamassage.org.

Physical changes to your breasts and body from breast cancer treatment may affect how you think about your overall self – your body image. Changes in your body image may negatively impact your emotions, self-confidence, sense of yourself as a sexual being and your relationships.

It can be hard to adjust to looking or feeling different than you did before. Scars, weight change and even temporary hair loss may cause you to worry about your appearance. Your sexual functioning and responsiveness may be altered by treatment side effects.

Breast loss, whether partial or complete, causes changes. Breast reconstruction may restore the shape and size of your breast, but can’t restore normal feeling in the breast. Yet, reconstruction may help your sexual enjoyment because it could boost your feelings of attractiveness.

To strengthen your self-image:

• Give yourself time to adjust. Learning to accept a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment takes time. So does adjusting to a new way of feeling about yourself or how you look.
  
  • Appreciate and respect that your body has gone through difficult treatments.
  • Looking at yourself in the mirror may help you feel more comfortable over time. Try to be kind to yourself and accepting of your new body.
• Stay calm and, if you can, embrace humor. Laughter has many positive effects on the mind and body, and it may help you relax.
• Take small steps. Do little things along the way to your bigger goal of feeling better about yourself.
  
  • Shower and dress to feel good every day, even when you’re not in the mood.
  • Take a walk, or get other exercise you enjoy.
• Buy lingerie. After breast cancer surgery, it’s common to feel self-conscious about being nude during sexual activity. Wearing camisoles, lingerie or nightgowns might make you feel sexy and boost your confidence. Or, you might prefer to cover yourself with a T-shirt or flannel PJs—that’s OK, too.
  
  • If you have trouble finding what you need in a department store, try Amoena, at amoena.com/us. This website has clothing designed for women treated for breast cancer, including undergarments, swimwear, symmetry shapers and breast forms.