Helpful Tips for Staying Relaxed

While taking care of yourself physically will be your primary focus as you deal with your illness, it’s important to nurture your mind and spirit as well. Here are some tips that women have found to be helpful for becoming relaxed and feeling prepared for decision making and treatment.

• Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.
• Eat something that will make you feel satisfied. Freezing meals and preparing snacks ahead of time will come in handy when you are too tired to cook.
• Look for laughter or comforting entertainment: movies, TV comedy, a nice long bath, books, poetry, a decadent dessert, and music are some ideas.
• You may want to bring along a book, magazine, and/or tapes and headphones to the waiting room with you.
• Ask your health care provider about relaxation techniques.
• Consider joining a breast cancer support group. You can call BCA at 877/2-STOP-BC for local support groups. Try out a few more support groups if the first one does not feel right. Some areas have specific groups for young women, mothers, women of color, lesbians, etc.

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