Breast cancer surgery and radiation recovery are rarely as short as someone may think. For some, ongoing tightness has become the “new normal” with changes to the body, leaving them feeling frustrated and wondering what they can do to feel like themselves again.
Here’s what I want you to know: regular exercise for breast cancer survivors has many benefits, including helping you regain strength and improve your quality of life. Pain and limitations don’t have to be permanent.
My name is Kelly, and I am a certified oncology and lymphedema therapist. I specialize in working with breast cancer patients and those with lymphedema.
In this guide, I am sharing some of my go-to, gentle exercises that you can do regularly, for months to years after breast cancer treatment, to help stay physically active, ease ongoing tightness, stiffness, and pain, and build back strength and mobility so you can focus on what’s most important in life.
These exercises are part of my breast cancer recovery series that covers all stages of healing after surgery. Because everyone’s surgery and cancer treatment recovery is different, please make sure you’re cleared by your doctor before trying these.
Looking for earlier stages in recovery? Download my free Breast Recovery Roadmap for all 8 phases.
Recovering From Breast Cancer Treatment
Breast cancer treatment can feel like a long journey, and recovery often comes with side effects that no one really prepares you for. Some find that radiation or surgery leaves them with tightness in their chest and shoulder pain. Others experience cording, or a breast cancer-related lymphedema diagnosis.
Here’s what I want you to know: it is possible to feel like yourself again and return to your normal daily activities. The American Cancer Society recommends regular physical activity to help regain balance, build up strength, and minimize symptoms. This is why I created Breast Cancer Rehab, an online physical therapy program to help cancer survivors minimize symptoms and get their life back. I have worked with thousands of patients who have regained strength and mobility and found new joy in life after their breast cancer diagnosis and recovery.
Exercises After Breast Cancer Treatment
The National Cancer Institute shares evidence that women who engage in regular exercise before being diagnosed with breast cancer and after their cancer treatment are less likely to experience breast cancer recurrence.
It’s generally recommended that you begin structured exercise right after you’ve completed treatment. However, when to start and how much exercise to begin with is something you need to discuss with your doctor first.
If you’re just starting your recovery, I recommend beginning with gentle exercises for the first 0-3 weeks to help ease into movement and reduce pain and swelling. If you’re further along, check out my stretching and strength exercises for 9-12 weeks.
Exercise Guidelines
These exercises can only be done as long as someone is cleared by their doctor first for safety, as everyone has a different surgery and recovery experience.
If you would like to follow along with a video of a certified physical therapist modeling these exercises, you can watch the YouTube video linked below.
Exercise Details
We’re going to go through 3 stretching exercises that focus on reducing ongoing tightness and pain, plus 3 strength exercises to increase muscle strength, help with posture, and get you back to your daily routines.
These exercises are safe to do as part of a daily routine, as long as you’re cleared by your doctor first. All exercises should feel mild – stop if you feel significant pain or strain.
Equipment Required
- A yoga ball or stacked pillows
- A set of light to medium-weight dumbbells
Stretches
Stretching is a great way to increase mobility and warm up before strength exercises. I recommend doing the stretching movements on both sides of your body, even if you only had radiation on one side. This helps with proper alignment, good posture, and allows someone to feel the difference between the two sides of their body. Focus on controlled movements, mild stretches, and deep breathing.
Child’s Pose
Child’s pose is a great mobility exercise to do long-term. During breast cancer treatment, the muscles that are affected the most are the ones across the front of the chest and sides of the body. This is why it’s important to focus on these areas during your regular exercise routine.
Begin sitting on your knees, nice and tall, with your knees out wide.
Slowly bend over as you slide your hands out in front of you, palms facing down.
When you reach a point where you feel a nice, mild stretch in your side, you will hold that position for 20-30 seconds. Take a big deep breath in, feeling your ribcage expand, and as you exhale, sink further into the stretch.
If you are a beginner, you may want to start by holding for 5-10 seconds. As you progress, you can work up to a minute or longer. If you have had radiation therapy, the longer you can hold, the better, because of how your muscles may have changed over time.
Sidelying Pec Openers
This next exercise is one that I recommend anyone do, especially those who may sit for long periods of time throughout the day, as it is a great stretch to help with posture.
- Begin lying on your side with your legs stacked on top of each other and your knees bent. You can use a pillow under your head for support if that is more comfortable. Your bottom arm is resting under your head.
- Reach your top arm out in front of you with your elbow straight (or if you prefer a bent elbow, that works too).
- Start slowly by opening up your arm, or elbow, towards the wall behind you, until you feel a mild stretch across your chest.
- From there, inhale, feeling the tension, before exhaling and sinking further into the stretch.
- Hold for a few seconds before coming back to the starting position.
- Repeat 3 to 5 times.
Shoulder Circles
This last stretch supports mobility in the shoulder and is great to add to your ongoing physical activity.
- Begin lying on your side with your legs stacked on top of each other and your knees bent. You can use a pillow under your head for support if that is more comfortable. Your bottom arm is resting under your head.
- Reach your top arm out in front of you with your elbow straight. Your goal is to keep your hand on the ground for the entire movement.
- Rotate your arm up above your head and around your body. As you move your arm, you will have to rotate your hand from palm down to palm up. You may also have a slight bend in your elbow.
- Focus on keeping your arm as low and relaxed as possible.
- Complete 3-5 reps in one direction, then reverse and complete the same movement in the opposite direction.
Strength Exercises
These strength exercises are great to add to your ongoing exercise routine. They are progressions of exercises done earlier in this series. If someone experiences discomfort or feels pain, they should try a modified version of the exercises for 9-12 weeks, or exercises for 3+ months.
Bent over Fly
For this exercise, you will grab your light weights. If you are a beginner, you may choose to go with no weight or only 1 or 2 pounds. Start light for comfort, and you can always increase weight.
- Begin standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Hinge at your hips, allowing a slight bend in your knees.
- Allow your arms to hang down with a slight bend in your elbows.
- Open your arms out to the sides, and squeeze your shoulder blades at the top of the movement. The focus should be on the mid-back pinch and coming out of the squeeze.
- Relax and slowly lower your arms back down.
- Repeat 8-10 times.
Chest Press
For the second strength exercise, you will grab your light weights. If you are a beginner, you may choose to go with only 1 or 2 pounds. Start light for comfort, and you can always increase weight.
Begin lying on your back with your knees bent for comfort.
Keep your elbows close to your sides at about 45 degrees. Over time, as you become more comfortable with the movement, you can bring your elbows farther out to 90 degrees.
Press your weights up toward the ceiling and then gently come back down. You can think about pressing up for a count of 1 second and then slowly coming back down with slight resistance for 2-3 seconds.
Ball W’s, T’s, Y’s (Alternating)
For the last strength exercise, you will be using your yoga ball. If you don’t have a ball, you can stack 3 to 4 pillows on top of each other.
After someone has surgery, it is not always ideal to lie on the chest, so I always recommend my patients lie on their abdomen or on their hips.
You will have 3 different movement options for this exercise that progress in challenge. You can either choose 1 of them or move through all 3.
The first progression is W’s.
- Start by lying on your abdomen with your knees gently resting on the ground. If it feels more comfortable, you can lift your knees off the ground and stabilize yourself with your toes.
- You want to focus on looking straight up in front of you, rather than craning your neck too far up or tucking your chin all the way down. This helps ensure a neutral spine.
- Bring your arms into a W position. Your elbows will be bent at a 90-degree angle, and your forearms should be straight.
- From there, lift your elbows towards the ceiling and squeeze your shoulder blades at the top.
- Gently come back down and relax.
- Repeat 8-10 times.
The second progression will be moving into T’s.
- Bring your arms straight out to the sides and squeeze up, feeling the pinch at the top.
- Slowly come back down.
- Repeat 8-10 times.
The last progression is doing Y’s.
- Keep your elbows straight and your arms out in front of you in a Y position.
- Start slowly, lift your arms up, feeling a squeeze, and then lower back down.
- Repeat 8-10 times.
Someone can also cycle through each movement for a total of 4-5 repetitions.
FAQs
What is the best exercise after breast cancer?
There is no best exercise or one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to starting exercises after breast cancer surgery. However, there are safe and gentle stretching and strength progressions that can help as you continue healing.
If you are unsure where to start in your recovery progress, you can learn more about my recovery and exercise program, Breast Cancer Rehab, to help minimize pain, build up strength, and improve your quality of life.
How long does it take your body to recover from breast cancer?
Recovery time varies greatly from person to person. Some people feel stronger within a few months, while others need a year or more. The important thing is to be patient with yourself and focus on consistent, gentle progress.
Can you lift weights after breast cancer?
Yes, you can lift weights after breast cancer, but start light and progress gradually. Most people begin with 1-2 pound weights and work up slowly. Always get your doctor’s clearance first, and consider working with a physical therapist who specializes in cancer recovery to ensure you’re doing it safely.
What exercise can I do after a lumpectomy?
After a lumpectomy, you can typically start with gentle arm and shoulder movements within a few days of surgery (once cleared by your doctor). Begin with the exercises in my 0-3 week guide, then progress through the series as you heal. The recovery is usually faster than with a mastectomy, but everyone heals differently.
Final Thoughts
Having a good quality of life after breast cancer is absolutely possible. I’ve seen thousands of individuals get their strength and confidence back. Once you’ve completed treatment and have clearance from your doctor, start with gentle activities and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I always encourage someone to stay physically active by incorporating mild movements like these stretches and strength exercises to help regain normal movement and get back to the things you love.
