How a breast cancer survivor boosted her immune system by healing her mind with yoga, meditation and walks in nature
- Isabel Galiano was forced to rethink her health after her breast cancer returned two years after she was first diagnosed with the disease at 32
- She has since adopted several practices to alleviate stress and negative emotions and get more sleep – all of which boost her immune system
Surviving breast cancer taught Isabel Galiano to take the mind-body connection seriously.
“You can’t just heal the body, you also have to heal your mind,” says the 46-year-old, who became a health coach specialising in supporting cancer patients after beating the disease a decade ago.
She is convinced her lifestyle played a role in her illness.
“I never smoked. I barely drank … I ate healthily. I was always thin,” she says. “But lifestyle isn’t only about [physical health]. How about the emotional aspects? Often the latter is completely underestimated and not addressed at all.”
In 2006, Galiano was honeymooning on a beach in Mexico with her banker husband when she felt a lump on her right breast as she applied after-sun lotion.
“I felt this cold shiver go through my body and instinctively I knew to take this seriously,” recalls the Luxembourg native, who was then a 32-year-old CEO of a radio station. She booked an appointment with her doctor the next day.