How To Boost Healing After Surgery

Wounds need a lot of energy to heal well. Since energy can only come from food, it is vital that patients eat as healthily as possible especially before and after surgery. Crucial nutrients for wound healing include protein, zinc and the vitamins A and C.

So what are the best things to eat? Meats, nuts, beans and dairy products are great sources of protein. Carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach and apricots are great sources of vitamin A. Citrus fruits and green leafy vegetables are great sources of Vitamin C. Yogurt, green peas, beef, oysters, black beans and crab are great sources of zinc.

Patients must also stay well hydrated before and after surgery by drinking enough water. Dehydration causes the skin and soft tissues to lose moisture and become dry. Dry wounds do not heal well. A good goal is to drink eight (8 oz) glasses of water a day. Caffeinated products should also be avoided because caffeine can cause dehydration.

The importance of healthy nutrition is really emphasized by the link between obesity (Body Mass Index [BMI] over 30) and complication rates after surgery. Obese patients have much higher rates of infection, wound healing problems (breakdown of wounds), hematomas (blood collections), and seromas (fluid collections) compared to non-obese patients.

Obese patients also have a thicker subcutaneous adipose layer with a poorer blood supply. Blood flow to the healing tissues is therefore less robust and the amount of vital nutrients and oxygen reaching these tissues are far less than in non-obese patients. This poor blood flow compounds the negative effects of poor nutrition. If possible, losing weight before surgery will only decrease the risk of complications.

Smoking can also really impact healing. The nicotine in cigarette smoke causes blood vessels to shrink, so again tissues do not receive enough of the nutrients and oxygen required for healing. At best, this can cause the wound healing process to take much longer. At worst, smoking can cause wounds to breakdown. Unfortunately, many smoking-cessation products will also increase the risk of healing problems because of the nicotine they contain!

Cigarette smoke also contains carbon monoxide. This combines with your blood cells preventing them from carrying oxygen and effectively lowering the level of oxygen in the blood. Since oxygen is vital for healing, it is crucial to quit smoking before and after surgery to decrease the risk of healing complications.

Another good thing to do?... Exercise. Regular aerobic exercise improves healing after surgery and boosts the immune system. Start with walking and progressively build up to more of a sweat once given the "all-clear" by your surgeon.

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Dr Chrysopoulo is a board certified plastic surgeon specializing in breast cancer reconstruction. On Facebook?.... Connect with Dr C and breast cancer patients in our FB Breast Cancer Reconstruction Community. You can also follow Dr C on Twitter!

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Talking to a stone

I am the stone. I've heard over and over that exercise is important in keeping breast cancer from coming back. I even have an exercise book especially for bc survivors. I haven't looked at it for months and months. But I keep getting emails from our rowing coach, J, about exercise and breast cancer and on the ROW website she has links to articles that extoll the value of exercise in keeping metastasis at bay. Finally it sunk in. Monday I went to rowing practice, and Tuesday and tonight I rowed at the YMCA. I also rowed last week. I know I should cross-train but I like doing one thing over and over and over. (That must be why I created a workshop called The Joy, Joy, Joy of Repetition.) Just about everybody there except me has an iPod. I look at the TV when I'm sitting back up and leaning back. I watched part of The Office last night, and when it was over I switched it to the PBS station. Uh oh. PBS didn't have closed captioning. But I was already strapped into the rowing machine so I just watched people's mouths move. They were talking about Milton Bradley, the out-of-control Cub and I could presume what they were saying. I am interested in him because of his name. You know, like the board-game company.
Tonight I watched the Nature Channel on Colony Collapse Disorder. I learned that in Sichuan in China, where a pesticide has wiped out the bee population, people do the pollination. It's very labor-intensive, as you might imagine, and involves sticks with feathers on the ends.

One solution to the disorder is to bring in Africanized bees that are resistant to CCD. But those bees are aggressive and who knows what they might do? or what a hybrid bee would be like?
We should all be as busy as bees, and develop our own waggle dances. Or just pull back and forth, back and forth to get our heart rates up.
Alas, it appears that bees don't listen, either. New research shows that bees observing the dance often ignore it.
I need 150 minutes of exercise a week to be called moderately fit. So far I've had about 75, not counting yoga, and it's only Wednesday.


[The increasingly rare bee suit]

Today is Another Day

The day before yesterday, the low point was letting Martha Stewart blab about breast cancer from my tv. The high point was making a cheesy movie. Yesterday, I had all intentions to get out of the house before dark but did not. Still, the afternoon wasn't entirely unenjoyable as I iChatted with my niece and one of my bff's. Then I went to Rhizome with Henry and worked on some poetry while he had a meeting (and I had a Caesar). So all what not bad. And guess what? It's still raining. If you don't love the rain in Vancouver, you better be in love with something else about the city.

Today, I AM LEAVING THE HOUSE! Yay! I'm going to an Inspire seminar this morning, then to the gym to work out (I keep forgetting and then realizing with horror that months ago, I signed up for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 10K--and Thanksgiving is on Monday here!), then back home. The proof copies for the food book are coming today, and I can't wait to see what the book looks like!

I've noticed a small decrease in side effects, and I think it might be because I've taken one less pill of the Dexamethasone, which is the hard-core anti-nausea pill I'm suppose to take right after chemo. It has a bunch of nasty side effects, including depression and mood swings. So I'm on an anti-depressant to deal with the side effects of the anti-nausea. Crazy.

Speaking of crazy, I finished watching that documentary Crazy, Sexy, Cancer. For me, watching it was like getting chemo: had to be in doses. As I feared, the last half was the same as the first. I guess I just totally didn't relate to this woman, despite her being about the same age as I, for a number of reasons: 1) She didn't seek traditional cancer treatments, and instead, went to a bunch of alternative, and sometime wacky, treatment centers that must have cost a fortune, which said to me that she had lots of time and lots of money on her hands. And it seemed to me that she did it because she thought it would make a good film, not just because she wanted to find a cure. 2) While rare, her cancer is so slow-growing and nonthreatening that at one point, her doctor told her it was kind of like having a wart. But I think I must relate to the movie on some level for its spirit. And I enjoyed it when she focused on other women who were going through treatment or had cancer for a while, as they spoke with wisdom and experience that was helpful for me to hear--warriors who've been through the battle and are still surviving, though they are tired and about fed up. But I don't want to get get all down on the filmmaker--it's her film after all. And she does get kudos for me for making it, and making the experience her own and sharing it. But for me as an audience who has cancer, overall, it wasn't my cup of tea.


Okay, now time for some tea--Yogi Tea.

FUCK CANCER

Today was the best day I've had since my diagnosis. I feel FUCKING KICK-ASS AWESOME!!!! I wish I haven't been so immobilized by the diagnosis and treatment thus far, but it has been the case. Today, I moved my ass...and moved it and moved it some more. I walked from our house to the cancer agency, which is about a mile and a half.

I attended a free seminar on how to apply makeup. Really, I already know how to put on makeup, but I was just going for the mega-box of free stuff they were handing out--moisturizers, cleansers, make-up, even a nice cotton cap to wear at night (which is really appreciated since it just got really cold here in Vancouver). It felt a little weird to be there because definitely, there was a majority of women over the age of 50--and then there was me. So conversations veered toward how to diminish wrinkles and other stuff. But it was kind of fun watching the other women put on wigs and shout out their opinions on each one.

Then I went to Tim Horton's for lunch and proofread some more of the food book manuscript. I am almost done with proofreading, and then I'll make corrections and tweak the images in Photoshop some more. Then I will pass the book onto H and start working on the cover. So I'm also thrilled that I'm getting closer to finishing the book!

Then I went to Fitness World and did a 30-minute cardio workout on the elliptical, a 15-minute upper-body resistance workout, and a nice long stretch.

Then I walked about two and a half miles to my appointment with the surgeon. The appointment was a little disappointing because for some reason, the cancer agency didn't send over a copy of my chart, so the surgeon couldn't give me a good assessment of my options. But she did put referrals through for the plastic surgeon, so some progress is being made. We have some time to read up on options anyway.

All in all, I feel great! I came home, had a nice dinner with the family, took a bath and read People magazine, and I feel so relaxed and good. I'm kicking cancer's ass all over the place!