As you might expect, suggestions for maintaining good health for people who’ve had cancer are the same as those for people who have never had cancer. Eat your vegetables and fruits. Eat low-fat protein and fiber. Get moderate to vigorous exercise. Maintain a proper weight. Sound familiar?

The truth is that a balanced, nutritious diet and moderate activity may be even more critical to you than to people who haven’t had cancer because they will help you:

• Regain your strength
• Boost your energy
• Rebuild tissue
• Reduce lingering treatment side effects
• Maintain your proper weight
• Speed healing and recovery
• Feel better overall

This is an important time and you want to do the best for yourself. And doing so will help you to focus on health and well-being rather than on the disease you had.

Below are guidelines for healthful eating that should be familiar, but we’ve gone an extra step by providing a reference for typical serving sizes. You’ll be amazed at how easy it really is to get the nutrients you need each day.

Following those are guidelines for a variety of healthy activities in which you can engage.

Guidelines for Healthful Eating

• Eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruits. 
  A single serving might be:
  • 1 cup of chopped vegetables or an amount the size of a baseball
  • 1 cup of lettuce or other leafy vegetable, about 4 leaves
  • 1 medium apple or orange about the size of a tennis ball
  • 1⁄2 cup of chopped, cooked or canned fruit
  • 3⁄4 cup of 100 percent fruit juice or 100 percent vegetable juice
• Eat six to eleven servings of whole grain bread, pasta and cereal.
  A single serving might be:
  • 1 slice of bread
  • 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal or about 1/2 to 3/4 cup
• Eat two to three servings of meat, poultry, fish, beans or nuts.
  A single serving might be:
  • 2 to 3 ounces of baked chicken breast or a piece the size of the back of your fist
  • 1/2 cup cooked or canned beans or peas
  • 1/3 cup nuts
• Eat two to three servings of dairy foods and eggs. 
  A single serving might be:
  • 1 cup of milk or yogurt
  • 2 ounces of processed cheese or 3 sandwich-size slices
  • 1 egg

Guidelines for healthy activities and exercise

Above and beyond your usual daily activities, engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, on five or more days of the week; 45 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity are preferable.

Moderate activities are those that require effort equal to a brisk walk. Vigorous activities generally engage large muscle groups and cause a noticeable increase in heart rate, breathing depth and frequency, and sweating.

Examples of Moderate and Vigorous Intensity Physical Activities

A word about alcoholic beverage consumption.

The guidelines for alcohol consumption are as follows:

• No more than two drinks per day for men
• No more than one drink per day for women

The recommended limit is lower for women because of their smaller body size and because they metabolize alcohol more slowly.

A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.