It’s amazing how important sleep is especially when recovering from an illness, injury or surgery. We know this, yet we don’t prioritize it.

Vitamin C is easier than other vitamins to obtain in foods, yet over 70% of American adults are not getting enough on a daily basis.

General sleep advice abounds online, but here are some tips specifically for those about to undergo (or recovering from) knee surgery.

“Radical” refers to a cancer operation in which the entire “packet” of lymph nodes is removed in addition to the organ with the cancer.

So, a robot is NOT actually doing the surgery. Sorry to disappoint anyone!!! Robotics refers to a machine that is made to do human functions.

Patients recover better when the incisions are smaller. They just do. But smaller is not always better.

The need for vitamin A increases in the setting of inflammation, illness, and infection. But watch out for supplements that give TOO much vitamin A.

The risk of recurrence is not zero but there are several ways to make that risk as close to zero as possible as you live your best cancer-free life.

The "sampling” or “biopsy” of the lymph nodes under the arm is done for any breast cancer surgery as well as some preventative breast surgery.

This most often includes a night in the hospital. And nope, you don’t have control over this. But take control where you can with these suggestions!

Also called partial mastectomy, “lumpectomy” is when only the lump or mass is removed, not the whole breast. It can be confusing to have two names for the same thing.

Stop eating any processed foods, fast foods, foods with added fats, and foods with added sugar 2 weeks before surgery, or as soon as you can before surgery.

First, have compassion for having the uterus removed. Because this is THE organ that grows babies, it can be a difficult emotional process to have it removed.

There is plenty of research showing that self-compassion (not to be confused with self-pity) is incredibly helpful during times of personal struggle.

They are all interconnected, which is why we need to care for the whole of the surgical patient but also makes improvement easier.

Turns out that a bedtime routine is really good for adults too… ESPECIALLY when their sleep is compromised because they are going through health problems and need surgery.

Don’t go into surgery alone, let our surgical wellness doulas walk WITH you on your journey to THRIVE with surgery!

If we think of recovering as rebuilding walls within our body, then we need building blocks, literally, to do that.

Healthy and unhealthy alike are running on fumes of vitamin D; therefore the great majority of surgical patients are low going into surgery.

Zinc levels fall 47% with major surgery and this drop can last up to 8 days. This is because the liver is storing extra zinc to make other proteins that fight inflammation.