What It's Like Getting a Mastectomy

By Amal Samuel

Today has been exactly 3 weeks since I've had my mastectomy and I'm still healing. This was the part of the cancer treatment journey that I dreaded the most; surgery. To me, a mastectomy sounded like an amputation of some sort as they are removing a body part, however, it's not a limb and can be reconstructed.

My operation was the first one of the day at 9am and I remember feeling incredibly nervous as the surgeon, plastic surgeon and anesthesiologist all came to see me for pre-surgery prep in the area as you wait for surgery after you change into a gown and put your stuff in a mobile closet. I have very tiny veins so it's always hard to get an IV in me and the anesthesiologist was having that exact problem which made me more nervous as I've never had general anesthesia before, let alone a major surgery. My surgeon was kind and walked me to the operating room. I got on the table and noticed all the big bright circular lights on the ceiling. The anesthesiologist brought in an ultrasound machine and was able to detect a vein and started to inject me with local anesthesia and then I was out.

When I woke up, I wondered where I was and saw people in beds across from me. Oh, I'm in the recovery room and it's a quarter to 3pm! The actual surgery ended at noon, but my mom, husband and mother in law who were in the waiting room since the morning could only see me once I was awake and one person at a time. My husband came to see me first and we had a long talk. I was given some apple juice to drink from the nurse and soon after threw up as anesthesia will do that to you. I was told I was able to get a room overnight at the hospital which was a relief as initially I was supposed to be released the same day but I was in no way able to go home in the state that I was in. My room was ready around 5pm, it was a semi-private room so I was going to be having a roommate. My husband was with me as they wheeled me there and my mom and mother in law found their way there after getting through the maternity ward as it was on the same floor. I was very glad to see them all. My husband and mother in law stayed for a bit until they left to catch their train and and my mom stayed until 9:30pm and went back to the hotel she was staying at. Around 6pm they served dinner which was some kind of stew and rice with apple sauce and apple juice. I tried to have some but still felt nauseous and eventually threw up again. I finally met my roommate at 10pm as she was wheeled into the room. She gave me a small wave and I waved back. We ended up chatting all night as we had a lot in common. She was a really nice person.

The next day I was supposed to be released but the doctor came in and said that I would be staying one more night as I threw up a few times the day before and wanted to make sure that I could hold down food before I was discharged. I also saw the plastic surgery team who had implanted an expander which is sort of a balloon that they will fill with saline until I get the actual implant a year later as you have to wait a 9-12 months after radiation treatment to get full reconstructive surgery. I will be getting radiation treatment about 6 weeks after my surgery so hence the temporary implant. My husband came soon after and stayed with me until my mom came in the afternoon and she stayed with me until 9pm. I just remember the whole day felt like somebody stabbed me in the chest as the anesthesia wore off by then (it stays in your system 8-12 hours post surgery) and I was given some liquid painkillers throughout the day and boy did I need it! it was really uncomfortable staying in the hospital bed as I had to be at a certain angle to help ease the pain and if I needed anything I had the help button to call a nurse over an intercom. I was also told to try to walk around so I went up and down the hall with my IV drip. The nurses who treated me were really nice and my mom gave a chocolate bar to the last nurse I had which she happily accepted, lol.

Finally, the next morning the doctor came in and said I was discharged and could leave at any time. I had gotten used to my continental breakfast and lunch and dinner (which I actually liked!) that were served every day and if you're staying for more than one day you get to choose what you want from a menu. My mom came at around 10am, I got dressed for the first time since the operation, it was a real feat to put on sweat pants! We got my stuff and were out the door by 11am and went back to the hotel. I definitely didn't miss sleeping on the hospital bed or hearing a guy down the hall audibly hurl every night.

The next day my husband picked us up from the hotel and drove us back to our house. I was really happy to see my sweet cats and I got my arm chair brought up from the basement and it helped me to be comfortable with the jp drains I had. For ten days I had to drain them and go to the clinic nearby to update my dressings until they were removed. It was a bit hard to do things at first; my right arm was compromised as I couldn't lift anything heavy or raise it too high so I had to learn to do a lot of things with my left arm. Every day for the first 2 weeks I tried to do more things on my own as I'm a pretty independent person. I cooked, i changed clothes was able to wash and do some chores around the house. My mom stayed with me for 2 weeks at my house and I was really grateful that she was there. I got used to her being there so when she had to go back home to Montreal I was a bit sad as I'm usually home by myself during the day with my cats so it was nice to have some company.

I'm getting better every day, I'm no longer in pain which only lasted 2 days post surgery. I enjoy cooking meals and going outside and doing the exercises I was given to strengthen the arms. I've started getting the saline injections so I don't look too asymmetrical anymore. I thought I would feel more emotional about getting this mastectomy, but I honestly didn't feel anything when I first saw myself in the mirror with the bandages. I think a part of me feels like the disease has been removed and I can now be rebuilt mentally and physically. I'll soon be starting radiation treatment and that'll be a whole other chapter as it'll be a month long and then by my birthday in mid-December I should be done with treatments and be cancer-free! :)