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Patient Education

Breast Cancer Self-Care and Recovery: Guided Imagery

Related Conditions
Breast Cancer

The following is a sample ten-minute guided imagery exercise from the Personal Support and Lifestyle Intervention Program of the UCSF/CPMC, a program of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center.

Help yourself to relax in whatever way you find easiest:

  • Progressive muscle relaxation
  • Body scan relaxation
  • Breath counting
  • Imagine relaxation flowing through you like a warm waterfall or gentle mist
  • Other

Imagine yourself in a beautiful, safe retreat in nature. Use all your senses. Here are some examples:

  • A garden where you watch fluffy, white clouds in a blue sky, while you inhale the fragrance of flowers and feel a gentle breeze on your cheek.
  • A mountain scene where you feel the enjoyment of your muscles walking on a path. You smell the pine trees warming in the sun or dip your feet into a cool mountain stream and let your foot rest on a round, slippery stone.
  • The seashore where you feel the sun warming your shoulders, you wiggle your toes under the sand to find the cool, and you hear gentle waves hissing as they pull back from shore.

As a general wellness promoting exercise, spend as much time there as you like, imagining yourself moving and feeling just the way you would like to. See, feel, and experience yourself doing whatever represents to you, a picture of your optimum health.

To work on a specific physical or emotional difficulty, imagine it and study it carefully for a few moments. Then call up an image of the same problem, now in a completely healed state. Imagine the problem changing into the healed image. End by focusing on the healed image.

You may wish to draw or write down some thoughts about your imagery session.

Breast Cancer Self-Care and Recovery:

  • Introduction to Lifestyle Change
  • Nutrition and Breast Cancer
  • Hydration: Water and Health
  • Exercise Program
  • Guided Imagery
  • Meditation
  • Sexuality and Breast Cancer

UCSF Health medical specialists have reviewed this information. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your provider.

Recommended reading

Basic Facts About Breast Health

Learn basic facts about breast health, including the development of breast cancer, its types and stages and guidelines from the American Cancer Society.

Breast Cancer Glossary

Check out our comprehensive Glossary of Breast Cancer terminology, which includes definitions of everything from AC chemotherapy to peripheral neuropathy.

Breast Cancer Risk Factors

Click now to find a summary of the factors that increase risk for developing breast cancer, including both factors that we cannot change and those we can.

Follow-Up Care for Breast Cancer Patients

After patients have completed treatment for early stage breast cancer, one of the common questions is, "How should I best be monitored?" Learn more here.

Preparing for a Lumpectomy or Mastectomy

Learn how to prepare for a lumpectomy or mastectomy, including restrictions before surgery, what to bring to the hospital and more.

Menopause and Breast Cancer

Breast cancer treatment often causes women to enter menopause prematurely. Although each woman reacts to therapy individually, certain side effects are common.

Metastatic Breast Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

Metastatic breast cancer is cancer that originated in the breast and has spread to other organ systems in the body. Learn more here.

Navigating Your Path to Breast Care

Different services and information are needed at different points in breast health care and breast cancer treatment. Learn more here.

Osteoporosis and Breast Cancer

Women who have had breast cancer or are considered at high risk for developing breast cancer are at risk for developing osteoporosis. Learn more.

Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer

The UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center and the Department of Radiation Oncology have compiled information about radiation therapy for your convenience.

Taking Charge

Knowledge may lead you to take action to protect your health and that of other women you care about: your mother, daughters, relatives and friends. Learn more.

Related clinics

Breast Care Center

UCSF-Health John Muir Cancer Center in Berkeley

See all 6 of our Bay Area locations and learn more about the center.

Did you know?

At UCSF Health, we believe a malaria-free world is possible within a generation. We're partnering with countries and regions, as well as organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Google, to use technology, machine learning and health care innovations to shrink the malaria map.

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