Dr Jodi Steel has never been one to sit on her hands and wait for things to happen.
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So when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last June, the Thirroul mother of two did whatever was asked of her by doctors and physiotherapists.
But the 50-year-old found the exercises she was told to do after her single-sided mastectomy just weren’t doing the trick.
“I did everything. I was really really diligent with everything and it wasn’t really helping. I was having a lot of pain with my shoulder. My shoulder blade was really uncomfortable and I was just in discomfort and pain all of the time,’’ Dr Steel said.
It was only after speaking with her good friend Dr Deirdre McGhee that she realised the exercises were doing her more harm than good.
So she agreed to be the “guinea pig’’ for Dr McGhee, who is conducting research aiming to improve the musculoskeletal rehabilitation of women post-breast reconstruction.
“I’ve been happy to be sort of the guinea pig for the exercises she’s developing because I’m motivated to see that things are actually better for women who come behind me in treatment,’’ Dr Steel said.
“The reconstruction stuff I’ve seen is mostly about restoring the woman from an emotional and physical perspective, which is important but for me is not the whole story.
“There isn’t anything about functionality for women.
“If you can’t function because you can’t use your arm properly and you can’t use your shoulder properly and you have to keep asking people to get things for you or you are in pain every time you reach up to get something, that's not a good quality of life.
“What Deirdre is trying to do is actually make it that women reclaim more of their functionality afterwards and they can actually have a decent quality of life.
“They can exercise, they can be fit, they can do the normal sort of things that a mum does or professional women, or whatever.
“Women want to be proactive. They don’t want to sit around and wait for things to happen.’’
Breast Research Australia researcher Dr McGhee, a physiotherapist with almost 30 years of clinical experience, agrees women want to play an active role in restoring their physical function after a breast reconstruction.
She said problems post reconstruction for women can be relieved by simple rehabilitation strategies and education.
“My research so far suggests that women receive very little rehabilitation or guidance regarding their physical function after their surgery and are confused about what they should and should not do,’’ Dr McGhee said.
‘’Improving the physical function of these women can improve not only their physical activity levels and general health, it is also important to reduce their risk of breast cancer re-occurrence.
‘’The outcomes of my research will be used to develop freely accessible evidence-based rehabilitation and educational resources for patients and clinicians, to improve the long-term health and quality of life of women post-breast reconstruction.’’
Dr McGhee and Dr Steel attended the Breast Reconstruction Awareness event in Wollongong on Monday night run by Reclaim Your Curves.
Dr Steel said Reclaim Your Curves was a good organisation but their information was limited.
‘’They will be important for me in a few months time when I do my reconstruction. I’ve had a partial reconstruction and have to go back and have it redone when all the treatment is finished,’’ she said.
‘’But while they will be helpful then, I still need to turn to people like Deirdre for help as far as functionality is concerned.
‘’The work we have done and the exercises she has recommended have helped me greatly.’’
Dr McGhee is interviewing women (on the phone or in person) following their breast reconstruction to investigate musculoskeletal issues and their impact on physical activity, as well as rehabilitation and education strategies. To get involved email dmcghee@uow.edu.au or call 0439 371 319.