Dr. Hofstatter Discusses Breast Cancer Survivors and Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle After Treatment

Erin W. Hofstatter, MD, assistant professor of medicine (medical oncology), co-director, Genetic Counseling Program, Yale Cancer Center, explains why it is important for breast cancer survivors to maintain a healthy lifestyle after their treatment.

Hofstatter says there has been an increasing number of studies looking at breast cancer survivors. It is known that breast cancer survivors typically gain weight during and after treatment, but the reason why is unknown.Breast cancer patients and survivors who avoid weight gain after treatment appear to have less risk of recurrence, Hofstatter says.

While it’s not a standard guideline for breast cancer survivors to maintain a healthy weight during and after treatment through diet and exercise, maintaining a healthy lifestyle as they go through treatment and beyond appears to be important from a survivorship standpoint, Hofstatter says.