June 11, 2025
Author: Shea Mencel, Certified Integrative Health Coach & Co-founder, We Are Here
Introduction: Healing Isn’t Just Medical
When you’re navigating cancer, it can feel like everything costs something – tests, treatments, supplements, support. For many, the financial toll becomes part of the trauma. But here’s the truth: some of the most powerful tools for healing are completely free.
The way we move, rest, breathe, and nourish ourselves can shape how we feel during cancer, and may even influence long-term outcomes. These small, science-backed habits aren’t a replacement for medical care, but they can support your body’s ability to heal and help you feel more like yourself in the process.
You don’t need perfection. You just need a few small shifts that are doable, affordable, and rooted in real care.
This post offers a few simple, research-backed practices that cost little or nothing – and yet can have a meaningful impact on energy, sleep, digestion, and overall well-being. These are things you can start today, no matter your budget.
Affordable, Cancer-Supportive Habits You Can Start Today
Here are a few simple, research-backed habits that cost little or nothing:
- Take a walk (even five minutes): Movement improves energy and supports your immune system. If you can, get outside in the morning. Exposing your eyes to natural sunlight (especially before 10 a.m.) helps regulate your circadian rhythm, balances hormones like cortisol and melatonin, and can even improve mood and sleep quality (1).
- Drink water before meals: Helps digestion and hydration, especially during treatment.
- Eat something with color each day: Carrots, greens, berries (even frozen) = antioxidants = support for your cells. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage cells and contribute to cancer progression (2) .
- Breathe on purpose: Box breathing (inhale-4, hold-4, exhale-4, hold-4) lowers stress in minutes.
- Turn off screens before bed: Sleep is when your body repairs. Better sleep = better outcomes. Blue light from screens suppresses melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall and stay asleep. Powering down screens at least an hour before bed can support deeper rest and better healing (3) .
Movement Is Medicine
Even just 20–30 minutes of walking a day can significantly improve your energy levels, circulation, and mood—and it’s totally free. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, exercise has been shown to reduce cancer-related fatigue, support immune function, and even improve treatment outcomes for many cancer types (4).
“Movement is medicine. You don’t need a gym membership. You just need your body. Walking and doing air squats daily can boost metabolism, support detoxification, and strengthen your body’s healing capacity.” — Dr. Mark Hyman (5).
Simple, regular movement, whether it’s a walk around the block, gentle stretching, or bodyweight squats in your living room, can help your body heal and thrive.
The Role of Sleep, Stress, and Community in Healing
- Sleep and Recovery: Studies show that poor sleep increases inflammation and can weaken immune function during treatment (6).
- Stress and Healing: High stress has been linked to poorer outcomes, while practices like mindfulness and social support may improve resilience and reduce side effects (7). More on this topic to come in our next article.
- Community Is Medicine: Whether it’s a support group, a friend who checks in, or even a virtual message board, connection helps reduce loneliness and emotional pain.
You don’t have to wait until everything is perfect to start supporting your healing. Start small.
About the Author
Shea Mencel is a Certified Integrative Health Coach, health equity advocate, and Co-founder & Vice President of Navigation at We Are Here. With a background in trauma-informed care, mind-body nutrition, and integrative wellness, she supports people with cancer in reclaiming power, clarity, and well-being, no matter where they are in the process. She is also a two-time breast cancer survivor.
Shea believes care should be bioindividual, holistic, accessible, and rooted in community, and that even the smallest changes in how we eat, move, and rest can make a powerful difference. You can learn more about her work at www.sheamencel.com.
References
1Weishaar, R., et al. (2020). “Effects of Morning Sunlight Exposure on Human Health: A Review of the Literature.” Environmental Health Perspectives.
2Halliwell, B., & Gutteridge, J. M. (2015). “Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine.” Oxford University Press.
3Blue light and its impact on sleep regulation (2018). Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
4Campbell, K. L., Winters-Stone, K. M., et al. (2019). “Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors: Consensus Statement from International Multidisciplinary Roundtable.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
5Hyman, M. (2022). The Doctor’s Farmacy [Podcast]. Retrieved from https://drhyman.com/blog/2022/05/16/podcast-ep566/
6Irwin, M. R., et al. (2015). “Sleep disturbance, inflammation, and depression risk in cancer survivors.” Psychosomatic Medicine.
7Lengacher, C. A., et al. (2014). “Mindfulness-based stress reduction in post-treatment breast cancer patients: An examination of symptoms and symptom clusters.” Journal of Behavioral Medicine.