By Dr Kelly McGuire ND

Try this recipe at your next family dinner as a rejuvenating vegetarian feast that will benefit everyone’s body. Add it to the weekly rotation of healthy meal choices.

By Dr Kelly McGuire and Dr Payam Kiani

Overcoming breast cancer is a tremendous personal and medical endeavor. Naturopathic Medicine has a lot to offer those patient’s facing this daunting task.  Whether you are faced with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or recovery after your conventional care, our naturopathic doctors can help you stay healthy and have better outcomes.

Some of the most common tools used to help support your care and help you to navigate your journey towards remission include:

• Nutritional assessment – You are what you eat, digest and assimilate into your cells! Optimizing your diet pre- and post- surgery can improve healing and speed up recovery. A healthy diet is the root of a healthy life in the long term.
• Nutritional supplementation – undergoing chemotherapy or radiation is necessary for cancer survival but also very damaging to healthy cells. Using selected nutritional supplements before and after your conventional treatment can help lessen the fatigue and other unpleasant side effects of your entire healing process.
• Lifestyle suggestions – Exercise, meditation, prayer, and other lifestyle techniques can greatly influence a healthy recovery. Discussion about healthy habits is integral to a Naturopathic treatment plan.
• Acupuncture – This ancient Chinese practice is a large part of a Naturopathic Doctor’s training. We use acupuncture needles to relax muscles, balance physical symptoms and access subtle mental/emotional channels that exist in our bodies. The balance of yin, yang, qi and blood ban bring profound strength to a healing body.
• IV therapy – Giving nutrients to your cells is a complex process when we eat food. Delivering specific nutrients like Vitamin C directly to the blood stream is a safe and effective treatment option.

By Kathleen Simpson

Pectoral and Shoulder Stretches and Strengthening

Before and after surgery of any kind, it’s best to be our best. Our body is going to or has experienced a change, a procedure that has changed our structure, our skin, muscle, fascia, everything to the cellular level.

Before surgery or at least after surgery it is best to exercise to ensure our best Range of motion (ROM) for our muscles and joints that will be affected by the changes of surgery. Even a week without exercise can make us weaker, so we want to ensure we have our optimal strength prior to surgery. Having strength and flexibility will greatly assist in the healing process.

Surgery causes scar tissue to form underneath the skin, where we can’t see it, however, this scar tissue causes decrease in our ROM in the surrounding area, as well as restrictions to the tissue and muscle. By stretching and strengthening the area surrounding the surgery site we can bring our body back to optimal health and balance.

Surgery in and around the Breast area also effects the shoulder, the scapula, the neck (cervical) and the arms. So, we need to ensure we include all of these in our strength training regimen.

Here are some examples of important exercises and stretches, please take the time to look at your form, never push your tissues to the point of “sharp” pain, however, some discomfort (tightness) is to be expected after surgery.

ROM of Pectoral Muscles (upper chest)

1) Post surgery and after your physician has given  you the go ahead to start your gentle exercise, in the shower start massaging your chest muscles, tissues under your arm and while your doing this try to lift your arm up toward the ceiling, eventually trying get your arm as straight and as close to your ear as possible.

2) Before and after surgery ROM for Pectoral and Shoulder

Stand against a wall, preferably in front of a mirror, spread your arms straight out to the side (like a cross), try to run your arms up towards your head keeping your arms straight and against the wall. If you have to come off the wall at any spot to keep your arms straight, this is where you have some restriction in your ROM, range of motion, keep working with this daily for improvement. Feel the stretch in your chest, shoulder and sides.

You can also do this exercise (stretch) laying on the floor running your arms along the floor up towards your head, when this is comfortable you can add laying on a foam exercise roller. The roller exercise allows you to go further in your stretch as your arms are now behind your body with arms straight working towards your head.

3) Supine Rotation Stretch

Lay on your side knees at right angles to hip (like your sitting in a chair), your head on a pillow which is mostly behind your head. Keep your knees together and rotate your upper body by lifting your arm and directing it behind you, follow your arm with your eyes so your head rotates with your upper body. You will be trying to look behind yourself with your hips and knees in front of you. The rotation  comes from your spine, not just your shoulders. Really try to reach and stretch from your mid back. Stay for a few minutes to allow your muscles to stretch gently, make sure your shoulders are away from your ears as much as possible. You can gently massage your Pectoral muscles towards your shoulder to obtain more ROM.

Do this stretch at least twice to each side every day. You can even do it in bed before or after your sleep.

When you have achieved good range of motion you can begin strength training for your pectoral, arm and shoulder muscles. Here are two good strength training exercises, please pay attention to your form.

4) Fly

Laying on your foam roller with hand weights, place your arms out to your sides, (like a cross) bring your straight arms over your chest and return your arms to the floor.

5) Assisted push ups, from floor.

Knees on the floor, hands shoulder width apart, push yourself up so your arms are straight.

** Ensure your abdominals are pulled up and in, and that your shoulder blades stay apart don’t pinch your shoulder blades together or drop your head/neck. Head and neck should always be in line with your upper back working with the muscles between your shoulder blades, your shoulder blades are kept down away from your ears.**

* Push up against wall. Feet are away from the wall so when you place your hands on the wall at shoulder level and width you are at a 90 degree angle, your buttocks are not sticking out, you push your buttocks towards the wall, not out behind you. This opens up your hip towards the wall so you are really leaning into the wall. Head is in line with your upper back, shoulder blades are apart and stay wide, your abdominals are pulled up and in and  your gluteus (buttocks) are tight to support your pelvis. Now bend your elbow so your whole body, not just your head, leans towards the wall. Only go as far as your shoulders stay in place, now with a big exhale straighten your arms and push with your chest muscles.

By Erin Rothenburger

Massage Therapy can be very beneficial in the treatment of a variety of issues that may arise as a result of procedures and treatments (ie: biopsy, partial or full mastectomy) for breast cancer.  The shoulder, arm, chest, rib cage, neck, and even the breast can be treated directly using a variety of different hands on techniques.  Shoulder and neck mobility, muscle function, tissue mobility and health, lymphatic drainage, and circulation can all be addressed with the use of massage.

Mobility and Function: Mobility and ease of movement can become limited in the neck, shoulder girdle, rib cage and arm.  Scar tissue can cause pulling, puckering and adherence of underlying structures.  Massage therapy can work directly to prevent and reduced these restrictions in order to lessen pain and improve appearance and function.  Frozen Shoulder (an adherence of the capsular joint of the shoulder which can significantly limit range of motion in the shoulder and arm) can also be detected and treated with the use of massage therapy.

Stress and Relaxation: Massage therapy can be very beneficial in calming the nervous system, reducing muscle tension and promoting relaxation, leading to an overall state of wellbeing.

Nerve Compression Syndromes: (commonly Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) As a result of tissue restriction, postural changes, or swelling/ congestion in the tissue, the plexus of nerves and blood vessels arising from the neck and shoulder may become compressed, resulting in symptoms that can extend all the way down the arm.  These symptoms may include pins and needles, numbness, burning pain, hot/cold changes, nagging pain or throbbing.  By reducing these restrictions and addressing postural or body alignment changes, the compression can be reduced or eliminated.

Lymphatics and Circulation: Lymphatic drainage and circulation can become blocked affecting especially the breast and arm.  These blockages can cause a loss in tissue health, swelling, discomfort and pain.  There are many lymph nodes located in area of the breast and axilla (armpit).  If lymph nodes have been removed, it makes it much more difficult for this draining and circulation to occur on its own.  Massage therapy can assist with this process.

Pain and Soreness: As a result of scar tissue and restrictions, muscle tension and functional compensation, as well as nerve and circulatory compression and drainage problems, pain and soreness can persist.  By addressing these issues, then the pain and soreness can be greatly reduced.

Massage Therapy is a regulated health profession.  Many extended health benefit plans cover massage therapy treatment.