Helpful Hints re Surgery

I had a mastectomy and 8 nodes removed. My experience was that I had very little pain, one night in hospital (I had very good care at home and lived close to the hospital if there had been any problems) and was back into most activities after a week or 2. I started chemo at the 3 week point. I think it is the axillary clearance that will be the most painful part and take the longest to settle. They show you how to do exercises to stretch your arm and get full movement back. These are very important and I did them daily (still do, 21 months later!). Sleeping was the hard part for a month or more. Needed lots of pillows to try and get comfortable. It was absolutely heaven when I could finally sleep on my side again! This was also when I needed a bit of pain relief for the first 2 weeks. (Endone and then panadol was enough after a few days). You will need easy to put on clothing. I wore leggings with a loose singlet top and a button up shirt over the top. Button up pjs in hospital. You will have a drain which is a bit of a bother but they should give you a shoulder bag made purposely for the drain. This makes life easier. I also received a little satin pillow which helped to make you more comfortable with your surgery area. I found a pillow to hold against your surgery area on the car ride home was helpful. You should receive a post surgery bra and prosthesis soon after your surgery. I wore this as soon as the drain came out and actually used it all the way through chemo and radio too. It was no where near as bad as I thought it was going to be and I had excellent care from my doctor and the hospital staff. I really hope your experience is ok too. Good luck. Deanne xxx