If you or someone you love is going through breast cancer treatment, do not wait until treatment is over to ask what can be done to preserve strength, manage fatigue and pain, maintain mobility, and support recovery.

Cancer treatment can place tremendous demands on the body and mind. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and hormone therapy may all be essential parts of treating breast cancer. At the same time, these treatments may affect energy, sleep, appetite, mood, strength, and the ability to move comfortably.

This is where supportive integrative care may have an important role.

There is a clear distinction between treating cancer and supporting the person receiving treatment:

Almost everyone recognizes the Yin-Yang symbol, yet relatively few people understand the depth of what it represents.

The familiar circle contains two intertwined forms: one dark and one light. Within the dark Yin portion is a small circle of white Yang, and within the white Yang portion is a small circle of dark Yin.

This seemingly simple image contains one of the foundational ideas of Chinese philosophy and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Yin and Yang are not enemies.

They are complementary forces that define one another, depend upon one another, and continually transform into one another.