What happens after a breast cancer diagnosis: Healing support through wellness therapy

Nikita Wadhwani was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was only 25, just two years after she lost her mother to the disease. She went through chemotherapy, as well as a mastectomy and reconstruction, and was in remission for four years – until a routine scan showed the cancer had come back.

This time, it was in her lungs and she had to restart chemotherapy.

Now 35, she admitted that it has taken “a long time to feel like myself again”. One thing that has helped her through this extremely difficult period is a range of wellness therapies and practices. This list includes craniosacral therapy, diamond paintings, yoga and consulting a life coach.

“After getting diagnosed the second time, finding out the cancer had spread, I was in a bad place mentally,” said Wadhwani.

“But having my healing time and circle by my side – like my craniosacral therapist, my life coach and family – felt like a safe space for me to process my feelings and what I was going through.” Craniosacral therapy is an offshoot of osteopathy that uses very light touch to work on mainly the head and spine.

She isn't alone in this wellness journey among breast cancer patients and survivors. Jill Alphonso, 45, was diagnosed two years ago and had a left breast mastectomy in January 2023. She was the first woman in Singapore to show her scar on social media and is a strong advocate for more open conversations about breast health, wellness and body positivity.

Alphonso had been a yoga teacher for 11 years – and a practitioner for 20 – so she knew about its physical and mental benefits, and returned to the practice just weeks after surgery.

“It not only helped with regaining mobility quickly – my doctor called the rate ‘remarkable’ – but also helped me accept my post-mastectomy body and built my confidence,” she said. “I now teach cancer patients and survivors in the hope they feel the same.”

Alphonso has also visited a holistic wellness centre in Malaysia several times since her diagnosis. Its Cancer Battle programme includes therapies such as hyperthermia (where the body is exposed to high temperatures to damage cancer cells), enemas (where fluid is introduced into the rectum to detox the body), and lymphatic massages. 

She also goes for craniosacral therapy, which she started shortly after surgery, and revealed that it still helps with the pulling in the scar tissue, which can cause discomfort for years after surgery.

“Part of this therapy has the ‘patient’ speaking their feelings and this, along with the manual therapy, is extremely restful, calming and balancing. You get to explore and discover your deepest self,” she told CNA Women.

Alphonso has also tried hypnotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (which pumps oxygen into the cells to help them work more efficiently) and contrast therapy that uses both saunas and ice baths. She even forked out around S$4,000 to install a cold plunge system in her home, which she uses between three and five times a week.

“Non-physical therapies are key because stress and mindset are huge factors in why disease arises in a person,” said Alphonso, who also works as an editor at a local bank.

SOUND THERAPY TO CALM BODY AND MIND

Michele Chong is the founder of The Sirius Sound, which offers sound therapy treatments. She revealed that around 70 per cent of her clientele are breast cancer patients or survivors.

Chong said that sound therapy helps breast cancer patients and survivors to get back their motivation so they can go back to a normal life. The individual sessions also calm their mind and body, as well as help with sleep.

She explained that the frequencies in sound therapy help her clients feel “more energised the next day, as they tend to feel low and aren’t able to connect back to themselves and do their daily tasks”.

SOOTHING THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF BREAST CANCER

Kathy Gabriel, co-founder of Soma Haus, has been working with cancer patients for a long time because of her personal connection – she lost both her mother and her co-founder to the disease.

The multidisciplinary clinic runs the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign, #FeelYourLemons, which advocates for self-care, breast health and greater body awareness beyond the breast.

Popular therapies at Soma Haus among breast cancer patients and survivors are craniosacral therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, contrast therapy and remedial massage, which Gabriel describes as “passive relaxation where women can switch off and not have their brain think of anything”.

“Usually when they come in, the first line of treatment is pain and symptom management or side-effect management,” she said. “Other survivors come in for nervous system regulation so that comes with sleep, immune system and lifestyle management.”

Gabriel revealed that therapies like craniosacral therapy and gentle massage help release built-up emotional tension and stress, “which are common for individuals undergoing or recovering from cancer treatment”.

She also noted that, with breast cancer patients, there’s a lot of fear of re-occurrence, especially around the five-year mark. This is when wellness therapies can help too.

“We have clients who worked very well for some time but when they’re nearing the five-year mark, their mental fluctuations become very erratic and they tend to get very anxious,” she said. “We help them reframe their thinking, to get past this state of a surrender almost, that they have to trust the process.

“There are a lot of mental and emotional aspects that we need to consider as we are navigating some of the healing modalities they come in for.”

WELLNESS THERAPIES FOR THE HEALING PROCESS

Gabriel advised cancer patients and survivors considering these therapies to approach the experience with openness and curiosity: “Your body has been through a significant journey and these therapies can be a powerful way to reconnect with and support your healing process.”

Chong of The Sirius Sound also encouraged women to be open-minded “because everyone experiences different results”. She also cited the importance of trusting the process and to see it as complementary medicine, that “it’s not magic”.

Non-physical therapies are important to cancer survivors as a big part of it relates to the mind-body connection, said Wadhwani.

“What goes on in your mind plays a huge part in how your body responds,” she added. “It’s important to go deep into the mind. Healing has to be internal and external as the external is only a reflection of the internal state of being,” she added.

Alphonso and Chong are organising Healing in Crisis & Beyond, in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness month. The event on Oct 13 is complimentary for cancer patients and survivors, and focuses on holistic wellness for breast cancer survivors and their allies.

The event is a precursor to 12 Months of Healing, a programme of monthly yoga and sound therapy sessions for women with breast cancer, which starts in 2025.

Alphonso reflected that “alternative therapies and mindfulness are all about exploring the internal landscape, which someone with a cancer diagnosis is called to do”.

“Because there is no clear answer as to ‘why’ one gets cancer, it’s an opportunity to explore,” she said. “If one can approach this with a sense of curiosity, then the results can be incredibly rewarding.”

“If we can explore… alternative wellness and if that is shown to have a positive effect on mind and body, the patient truly wins,” Alphonso added.

Healing in Crisis & Beyond takes place on Oct 13, 2024, from 3pm to 6pm, at Waterfront Ballroom, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Tickets are available here.