Yep, definitely because she is seen as a 'celebrity' ..... even tho they love to hate her. This may 'reset' her public image a bit now, as so many families will be able to relate to her more.
I would definitely call it major surgery, specially if it is reconstruction! And then they have to add the emotional turmoil on top of that (which we all know can be HUGE) .... which is never really considered 'part of the process'!
Then again, there are some who have had a mastectomy who've also said that they've sailed thru a straight mastectomy, whilst others with lumpectomies have sometimes taken longer to recover or had more problems - so I guess it all depends on the skill of the surgeon & follow up team .... and the ability of the patient to recover well.