Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

While in the first week survival is still the key issue in your mind, for the next five weeks or so you should be planning physically, psychologically, and emotionally to return to full activity in your normal life. In this period you have to give it your best effort to achieve full recovery. Focus more than ever on taking your medications, quitting smoking, avoiding secondhand smoke, reducing stress, controlling depression, exercise, and diet, reducing alcohol intake, and lowering your weight if you are obese. 

What do I do after I go home?  The first week’s home care will depend on the treatments you began in the hospital for example, whether after your heart attack you received treatment that effectively opened up the blocked arteries preventing blood flow to your heart, or whether you had bypass surgery. And once again, your treatment plan in the first week home depends on the severity of the heart attack. You may be asked to make a return visit to your physician in this first week. But no matter the severity ofyour heart attack, it is more important than ever during this first week at home to keep an open lifeline to the hospital and your physician. In general, for the first week, expect to take it easy. You may be able to walk on a flat surface at a moderate pace for ten minutes twice a day (morning and afternoon), and you will need to set a new routine. For example, you may wake up, eat breakfast, take a break to do something sedentary, and let your food digest. Then maybe you...