I had my mastectomy in this year March and radiation in May. Now also have a frozen shoulder and hydrodilitation didn’t work to resolve it. Is there anyone out there who used to lift heavy weight and do cross fit before diagnosis and has returned to the same after BC treatment? I am on a physio rehab programme for my shoulder and trying to do slow and low weights but find it not only frustrating but my poor body also doesn’t like it if I try and push the weights. Specially upper body. Trying so hard to accept everything but my body keeps reminding me that I am far from ‘normal’. 
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Hi @phoenix5
I didn’t have a mastectomy, but had a lumpectomy and radiotherapy last year and strength train a few times a week. I was anxious about going back initially and started really light, not much more than the bar itself, and very slowly increased the weight. My operated size didn’t feel as strong and began to feel really tight so I had a physio appointment and was given stretching exercises which really helped. I also got frustrated at times, but am now lifting heavier than pre cancer. I do still find one side is less strong, and find certain exercises more difficult than before, but suppose that’s just the way it is for me. You’re dealing with not only BC surgery, but also your frozen shoulder issue, so try and not be too hard on yourself. Slow and steady. x
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Thanks so much for replying. I am just frustrated because I was diagnosed at peak fitness and now I am struggling to lift 39kg where I was lifting 100kg. I underestimated the mastectomy in terms of it being a major surgery and I had a lumpectomy 3 weeks before that but they didn’t get clear margins. Just feel alone. I appreciate your response!
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Hi @phoenix5 - I’m so sorry to hear this - how frustrating. I had lumpectomy and SLNB and radiation in March-July 2024. Frozen shoulder following surgery which progressed during radiation. Before treatment I lifted light, did bodyweight and lots of cardio. The frozen shoulder was pretty rough and I began very light physio about 4 months into it after the super painful part. I was progressing and then developed bursitis tendonitis on my other side probably due to over-compensating. I am just now - 20 months later? - thanks to a great physio doing light lifting - bands and weights - and returning fully to my cardio sports. My goal is for heavy lifting to help with the bone loss from letrozole! I am getting there but it has been very long. Maybe your path will be shorter with less complications - but working with a gifted sport physio who will help you reach your goals is such a big help. I never stopped physio throughout and found other ways to feel like my fitness was progressing. You will get back to baseline and beyond, there’s no doubt. All the best to you!
Hi @phoenix5
I had several surgeries with my last being a mastectomy with immediate implant recon in May and radiotherapy in June/July 2025.
I, too, was the fittest/strongest I had been at time of diagnosis. I trained in between surgeries but upper body movements were minimal. The past 8 weeks I have been able to introduce push ups, strict and kipping pull ups, overhead movements such as strict press are light and controlled but feel ok. Pain and tightness can be a real issue, however I do have capsular contracture which I am due to have corrected this month.
Hope this helps, I have built everything up and tried to be patient.
Be kind to yourself, you are already stronger than you were before diagnosis xx
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Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. I still have a frozen shoulder on the side of my single mastectomy so I am struggling with all push exercises. But I am trying very light weights and building it up. I so badly want to feel strong again. It helps me feel better mentally too.
It sounds like you are doing your best too.
Frozen shoulder is just awful isn’t it. It wasn’t something I was expecting or prepared for after my diagnosis and 2 surgeries and radiation. I just want to feel strong again. I suppose I need to be more patient. I had an awesome physio after my mastectomy for scar tissue massage. And then for frozen shoulder but it didn’t help. Hydrodilitation didn’t work either but I did have an MRI as I was getting paranoid thinking the worst. It just showed frozen shoulder. So now I wait and train with light weights on my upper body 3 times a week. I try and go heavier on my legs!
Wishing you all the best on your journey too. It’s so tough isn’t it.
I can’t claim to be particularly healthy but I love Yoga and cold water swimming and found it distressing after lumpectomy and radiotherapy to not be able to do those things as I wanted as they have become important for my mental as well as physical health . This is particularly the case with Yoga which I had been practising for many years . It felt as though cancer had bled a lot of the joy and colour out of my life . All I can say is that if you are patient you will probably get there ( though lifting 100kg sounds a lot to me - but I’m not a weight lifter so wouldn’t know) . I also met a lady at our support group who had taken up lifting weights as part of her recovery and was doing well with them.
I was able to maintain a bit of Yoga practice and was introduced to Somatic Yoga which I found great for releasing tension and worked a bit like a deep massage .
About 3 weeks after my op with my wounds nicely healed I decided that I must be able to try a little cold water swim … honestly it felt like something was tearing and I’m lucky I didn’t hurt myself. A few days after that I decided to take a brisk walk … my toe got caught in a crack in the road and I fell - I managed to twist and avoid landing on my boob but I damaged my rotator cuff on the opposite side and it hasn’t ever been quite the same . However I have a great Osteopath and after a couple of weeks of intensive treatment I was able to raise my arms over my head again just in time for radiotherapy . A few weeks after radiotherapy whilst side stretching during Yin Yoga I pulled something on the side I’d had treatment on which hurt for a number of weeks . I probably set myself back because I was impatient not once but several times.
However after almost a year I was back to doing my strong outdoor Vinyasa flow class - downward facing dog , planks etc. as well as my Hatha and Yin classes and regular outdoor swimming - eventually I have been able to bodyboard which is something I wasn’t sure I would be able to do again .
So I just wanted to say - pace yourself but don’t give up xx
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Honestly you are doing great! It’s so hard to deal with these side effects. I was not able to do anything for the first 4 months of my frozen shoulder because everything (including sleeping!) was so painful. The next few months were about trying to maintain/recover mobility. It’s only recently that I have been able to re-incorporate strength. Definitely patience is required! But finding ways to feel strong and healthy (maybe leg work like you said) will help. And I loved being in the water but I did need to wear a life jacket (I swim a large cold lake) because I needed the flotation with the loss of arm movement. There is a whole thing on aqua therapy for frozen shoulder. Please stay in touch! You’ve got this 
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Thank you so much for your kind reply. We can only try can’t we. I appreciate your support very much.
I’m so grateful for this thread, and having googled returning to lifting after breast cancer. I was diagnosed last week and I’ve got a lumpectomy and therapeutic breast reduction on the other side so I’m hopefully not too wonky in a couple of weeks. I’m writing this from the leg press in the gym, having got to be the strongest I’ve been and feeling totally fine. I’m trying to come to terms with an operation, radiotherapy, maybe chemo and stopping HRT (which has basically been my saviour over the last few years). I would feel so sad not to be able to lift again and lose everything. I also cold water swim, and not being able to do this between biopsy and results was horrible. It’s great to hear it’s possible to get back on it and feel strong again, even if it is a tough haul.
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This is a tough one for sure. Exercise is my mental health and feeling like it was taken away was hard. I’m 6-7 months post surgery. 1 week after surgery I was back watering my allotment. 2 weeks I was doing light work down there. I couldn’t swim or climb so I walked. And did pilates and gentle movement. 3 months on and I climbed…very carefully. Chemo meant I couldn’t use the wall so I scrambled instead as it was outdoors. I couldn’t swim but was ok to dip. And when I couldn’t walk much due to neuropathy I got into the gym and worked with a PT on learning strength training. I managed to deadlift my own bodyweight yesterday for the first time 
It tested my resilience for sure. I learned nothing I was told was a certainty, and to keep an open mind. If your base level fitness is good you stand a better chance of recovering fast. Try stuff out and listen to your body. Also highly recommend getting a PT to give you tailored advice.
It doesn’t last forever but you will be amazed at what you can do with adaption and seeing what works. Good luck x
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@phoenix5 How are you doing? You are not alone and I am thankful for your post.
I had my single mastectomy 2 weeks ago and am really missing strength and weight training. One of my biggest fears is how long I am gong to be away from it so I certainly understand the frustration. I had 3 lumpectomy operations before my mastectomy and in between managed to get back running and bodyweight stuff, moved back onto the weights about 6 weeks after my last lumpectomy but only managed 2 weeks of being back to normal before I was operated on again. This time round it feels as if its going to take forever. I too was the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been at the time of my diagnosis in September 2025 and it feels that I am being robbed of everything I enjoy.
I am hoping to do a Hyrox Comp at the end of the year but that goal seems to be stretching further away especially as I’m back in surgery tomorrow for an emergency operation due to developing a huge nasty Haematoma 
so this has set me back a few weeks.
Mentally not doing exercise is tough on those of us who love it. I wish you all the very best and sending you lots of support. Here’s to being strong again 
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Thank you so much for also replying. Gosh how awful for you. I also had a failed lumpectomy. They missed the tumour margins by 2CM not mm!!! Didn’t even think that was possible! So I insisted on a mastectomy and am staying flat. It’s tough to accept but rather that then more surgeries which bring unexpected complications. I still have a frozen shoulder from my mastectomy and radiation.
I was training for the hyrox before I was diagnosed. Was supposed to do it in March 2025. Washington diagnosed in Feb. Now I want to do the hyrox in December this year but all my ‘healthy’ friends are too fit. I am struggling to regain my cardio!
Best of luck with your haematoma surgery. You really have had a tough time. I will be thinking of you!
Shout if you need support. Like you said, we are not alone, even though it feels that way sometimes! Let me know how your surgery goes. Xx
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Hi @phoenix5 So surgery went well and am now back home recovering - feels like I’ve gone back 2 weeks but trying to stay positive.
Myself and a group of friends have signed up for one of the 10 miles Pink Ribbon Walks at Hampton Court Palace in April so I am focusing on that as my first goal now and then will take it from there.
I know what you mean about healthy friends being too fit 
my hyrox partner is my personal trainer so I have a long way to go in short time to catch up with her lol!!
Hoping your shoulder gets easier for you Big Hugs x
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@phoenix5 Hey there!
I’m 12 weeks post chemo and 3 weeks post radiotherapy. I had a WLE and some nodes removed last year.
I have trained throughout treatment but since the initial surgery, obviously started a lot less intense and lower weights than at peak fitness. Built it up gradually, with no real ‘heavy’ lifting again for a while. Then throughout chemo, trained for the last part of the cycle each time when my white cell count was higher/less infection risk, doing what I felt comfortable and not exhausting myself.
Following rads, I’ve returned to 3x strength training a week with my PT for one session of that, back to deadlifting and barbell back squatting and recently lifted 10kg more than bodyweight. Still nowhere near my pre-DX lifts but I can feel the steady progress building each week. 
However, I’m definitely experiencing some post-RT fatigue now but the training is really helping with that.
I’ve also rejoined yoga classes and been pleasantly surprised how much balance and flexibility I’ve retained.
Hope your shoulder is improving 
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So glad your surgery went well. How are you feeling? The walk sounds lovely. Have lots of fun! My personal trainer is going to do the Hyrox with me but is a bit concerned because it’s means I need to do heavier weights as he is a man! Still want to try London December one this year! Sending you strength and let me know how your recovery goes! 
That sounds really good! Well done. No change with my frozen shoulder. Hydrodilitation didn’t work and it’s still quite restricted and painful. Probably worsened by chest wall radiation and lymph node removal. But apparently most shoulders take 18 months to self-resolve. Mine started in June last year! Sending continued strength your way