Life After Cancer: 6 Steps to Embrace Joy Again

Almost 311,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed every year.

Thanks to advancements in detection and treatment, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is now 91 percent, according to the American Cancer Society .

That means there are hundreds of thousands of breast cancer survivors moving on from surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and other active treatment into the next chapter of their story, which can be a big period of transition.

"Lots of patients have said the experience makes them a changed person," says Mary Dev, a senior social work counselor at MD Anderson Cancer Center's Nellie B. Connally Breast Center in Houston. "I don't think anybody comes out not a changed person."

Anxiety, depression, fatigue, and body image concerns are more common among breast cancer survivors than the general population and can linger long after treatment ends.

So how can breast cancer survivors begin to embrace life again, find joy, and create meaning and purpose in a life that has changed forever? Here are a few places to start.

1. Prioritize Your Physical Health

A life-changing diagnosis like breast cancer makes some survivors realize their health is more fragile than they had previously appreciated, says Liz Farrell, LCSW, the lead breast oncology social worker at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Faced with their mortality, they don't want this to have been for nothing," she says. "They'll see this experience as something that has come into their lives, not necessarily for a reason, but it's definitely changed their perspectives."

A very small study of 11 breast cancer survivors published in Nursing Open in 2021 noted that participants said they "paid more attention to their physical health conditions now than before treatment."

Farrell has witnessed this firsthand: She sees many patients who "become very committed" to healthy living after breast cancer treatment. "Often they're starting during the tail end of treatment to get in the habit of committing some time every day to activity, they're really trying to form those habits so that when life returns to a more normalized state, it's already an established habit at that point." Regular exercise is of course important for everyone, she says, but "cancer is often the impetus to not let it fall by the wayside."

Depending on your preferences, goals, and abilities, this might look like adopting a balanced diet, sticking to a regular exercise routine, getting plenty of sleep, or even making other, non-urgent doctor's appointments you put off during treatment.

For some people, this drive is motivated more by fear of recurrence than to create meaning: High levels of body fat and weight gain have both been linked to a greater likelihood that breast cancer will come back.

But healthy habits might also help you navigate potential side effects of long-term hormone therapy treatment like aromatase inhibitors, according to the National Cancer Institute .

2. Bolster Your Mental Health

For some breast cancer survivors, meeting with a social worker during treatment was their first introduction to mental health work, Farrell says. If you've started to recognize the value of prioritizing your mental health, survivorship can be a time to explore that further.

"We see a lot of people say, ‘This is important to me, I'm going to continue it afterward. I don't want to be coping with depression or anxiety [alone]. I'm going to think about parts of my life where I could use coping strategies,'" she says.

You might find a therapist to meet with regularly, join a support group for breast cancer survivors, or adopt stress-reducing practices like yoga or mindfulness meditation , which has been shown to improve quality of life in people with cancer.

For the survivors in the Nursing Open study, part of protecting their mental health and experiencing more joy was finding the bright side in their experiences. "It was due to my having a positive mindset that I felt deeply that good comes from bad," one participant told the researchers.

3. Reconnect With - and Thank - Loved Ones

Survivors routinely mention that support from their spouses, family, friends, and colleagues was crucial to their empowerment throughout their treatment and survivorship.

Some survivors feel these relationships have been strengthened by the experience of navigating breast cancer together, Dev says, so you may be able to embrace life by spending more time with the people who supported you through your diagnosis and treatment. You can let them know how much you appreciate them with words of gratitude or small acts of kindness as you have more energy.

Even if you aren't able to spend more time with your loved ones, reflecting on your gratitude for them may help. People with breast cancer who cultivate gratitude are less likely to have depression.

Dev frequently hears about how grateful patients are for their time with loved ones, especially in the context of breast cancer mortality. They might say, "This happened to me when my kids were little, and now they're teenagers, and so I'm grateful to have had all these years to be present," she says.

4. Get Involved in Advocacy

Some survivors build meaning after breast cancer by giving back to the facilities, organizations, and people who supported them through treatment, Dev says. Most of the volunteers at MD Anderson are cancer survivors themselves, she says. "They understand the importance of what it is to have support, so they want to give back in some way."

You could mentor people going through active treatment, participate in awareness-raising walks, lead patient support groups, fundraise for breast cancer charities, or even start your own advocacy organization, she says.

5. Rethink Your Career Path or Home Life

Some survivors are eager to jump back into a professional life that had to be placed on pause for treatment, Dev says. (If that sounds familiar, remember to ease back into work and not put too much pressure on yourself to feel back to "normal" by any particular timeline, she says.)

Others find certain precancer daily routines are no longer satisfying, Farrell says. Maybe you start searching for a more fulfilling job, prioritize spending more time with your loved ones, or finally move to that city or state you've been daydreaming about.

Major shake-ups can inspire more joy, but give them some careful consideration. Farrell recommends waiting a year before making any really big changes so you're sure it's something you want to do. "Don't put the house on the market the second treatment ends. Try to let some of the emotional dust settle," she says.

You might find some satisfying minor changes to make in the meantime, like letting go of tasks, responsibilities, or chores that no longer seem so crucial, Dev says. "Maybe for someone who was very regimented with housekeeping, now it's not so important anymore," she says. "I think people realize they can only spread themselves so thin, so they're prioritizing what they want to."

6. Ask for What You Need

You may find you have a new sense of self-confidence after surviving breast cancer treatment: You can do hard things! And this source of strength might inspire you to embrace life by taking new and different kinds of risks.

"I definitely see changes in people who are much more emboldened," Farrell says. That might look like being more unfiltered with family members, standing up for yourself at work, or letting go of friendships that no longer serve you.

Feeling freed of reservations you might have had previously can help you recognize your wants and needs and ask for them to be met by employers, partners, and friends, she says. "Most of the time they find it feels incredible to say, ‘This is what I need' and have people respect it. It translates into other areas of their lives too: I can have these difficult conversations, I can prioritize myself."

This is common when you've looked at your own mortality as closely as many breast cancer patients have, Dev says. "They value life, they value the opportunities they have, they're not taking anything for granted, and they're probably not letting fear get in the way."

No matter how you decide to move forward, be gentle with yourself and take it slow. Recovery and survivorship are different for everyone, Dev says, and it's important to ease back into embracing life.

"Don't expect yourself to be precancer you as soon as this is over," Farrell says. "You may never be that person again. But there are lots of ways to be an even better version."

The Takeaway

• Life after breast cancer can be a challenge, but it's also an opportunity for new beginnings.
• Embrace this chapter by focusing on activities that nurture your physical and mental well-being, as well as fostering connections with loved ones.
• Be compassionate to yourself as you navigate through survivorship - take the journey at your own pace and rediscover a fulfilling path forward.

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking

Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy . We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

Sources

1. Key Statistics for Breast Cancer. American Cancer Society . 2024.
2. Saunders CM et al. Surviving and thriving after breast cancer treatment. Medical Journal of Australia . August 14, 2022.
3. Pang Y et al. Associations of adiposity and weight change with recurrence and survival in breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Breast Cancer . May 17, 2022.
4. Chang Y et al. The Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation Program on Quality of Life in Cancer Outpatients: An Exploratory Study. Integrative Cancer Therapies . February 1, 2017.
5. Tomczyk J et al. A Grateful Disposition Promotes the Well-Being of Women With Breast Cancer Through Adaptive Coping. International Journal of Women's Health . June 16, 2021.

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Lisa D. Curcio, MD, FACS

Medical Reviewer

Lisa Curcio, MD, is a board-certified general surgeon and a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist. She is currently the medical director of breast surgery at Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, New York. Dr. Curcio attended George Washington University Medical School in Washington, D.C., where she also completed a residency in general surgery. She was invited to fellowship training in cancer surgery at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. She was the recipient of the competitive U.S. Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program. During her military commitment, Dr. Curcio served in the military as chief surgical oncologist at Keesler Medical Center in Biloxi, Mississippi.

From 2003 to 2004, she served as program director for Susan G. Komen in Orange County and remains involved with Komen outreach efforts. She was on the board of Kids Konnected, a nonprofit that helps children of cancer patients deal with the emotional fallout of a cancer diagnosis. Currently, she is on the board at Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing support services for people affected by breast cancer in New York's Hudson Valley. Dr. Curcio also has a strong background in breast cancer research, having contributed to dozens of peer-reviewed articles. She is currently a member of the Alpha Investigational Review Board.

Her practice includes benign and malignant breast diagnoses. Dr. Curcio was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37. Although her fellowship training was in surgical oncology, this experience motivated her to provide compassionate, high level breast care and to focus on breast surgery.

Dr. Curcio is passionate about treating the patient and individualizing the care plan to their specific needs. Dr. Curcio strongly believes that cancer care must include lifestyle changes to focus on healthier habits to reduce future events. Her practice also focuses on breast cancer risk reduction, education, and access to genetic testing for patients with a family history of breast cancer.
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Sarah Klein

Author

Sarah Klein is a Boston-based health journalist with over 15 years experience in lifestyle media. She has held staff positions at Livestrong.com, Health.com, Prevention , and Huffington Post. She is a graduate of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, and a National Academy of Sports Medicine–certified personal trainer. She moderated a panel on accessibility in fitness at SXSW in 2022, completed the National Press Foundation's 2020 Vaccine Boot Camp, and attended the Mayo Clinic's Journalist Residency in 2019.

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