Single Mastectomy: What will Recovery Time be like? How long?

Hello, I am Corey - new here. Almost done with 20 rounds of chemo - June 27th the last day. I will be having a single right mastectomy with most if not all lymph nodes removed from armpit and clavical area. Will be doing expander in right breast for implant reconstruction next winter/spring. After mastectomy I have 5 days of radiation for 6 weeks. My question - I live alone but have a great support system - how long will I need a caretaker? Is it someone just popping in or round the clock? First 10 days are covered with 20 hour a day coverage, meal train set up, neighbors on call. Is that sufficient? Thank you for your opinions! Wishing you all the very best!! Corey

Nothing about this journey is easy but the "unknown" is the worst in my opinion. I had a port put in for the treatments. I have not had any problem with the port. I never experienced any pain with the treatments. I was given anti nausea medication. I only had a couple days of being a bit queasy, never threw up. My main side effects were trouble sleeping, fatigue, lack of appetite, loss of hair (head/body) and chemo brain. I focused my diet on protein and hydration - found some great protein to mix with water. I currently eat about 1/3 of a meal. I had no negative effects on taste. I did have constipation and diarrhea but that was eased with over the counter prescriptions. My work outs went from rowing and weight lifting to walks and body weight exercises (squats, wall push ups, etc.) Mentally I took the attitude of "Why not me?", "It is was it is", "I have so much to be grateful for" and "This too shall pass". Don't get me wrong I had my pity parties but try to put a time limit on them. I wish you strength, peace and ease as you go through this journey.

Oh wow I am stage 1b Invasive ductal carcinoma. ER/PR + Hers 2 negative with oncotype score of 49 so I have to do 4 rounds of chemo starting next week .. I am so nervous.

What type of cancer ? Since you had 20 rounds of chemo prior to surgery.

What type of cancer did you have?. You didn't have chemo or radiation

Same here. Dont do the bilateral unless you know youre full comfortable with it right now. You can always have the other side done later but if you do both now and regret it, you cant undo that. Other factors for me where not knowing if i needed chemo, radiation, the infection risk that comes with those if you do recon (especially bilateral) all together. Also my surgeons kept stressing to me that double surgery = double surgical risks. My advice is always make sure you're 100% comfortable with what you're having done.

Hello, I am Corey - new here. Almost done with 20 rounds of chemo - June 27th the last day. I will be having a single right mastectomy with most if not all lymph nodes removed from armpit and clavical area. Will be doing expander in right breast for implant reconstruction next winter/spring. After mastectomy I have 5 days of radiation for 6 weeks. My question - I live alone but have a great support system - how long will I need a caretaker? Is it someone just popping in or round the clock? First 10 days are covered with 20 hour a day coverage, meal train set up, neighbors on call. Is that sufficient? Thank you for your opinions! Wishing you all the very best!! Corey

Hi @ppeg

I had a double mastectomy in October 2024. And I received tissue expanders during the same surgery. I had 4 lymph nodes removed. I’m getting implants and fat grafting on march 5. No chemo or radiation.

Until I got my drains out, I was pretty uncomfortable and cranky. I could not reach with my arms and could not lift or hold anything over 10 pounds. These restrictions lasted 6 weeks.

I slept in a recliner for 5 weeks. The recliner was so comfortable. Much more comfortable than lying in a bed.

I wore a plastic shower shirt until all of my drains were removed. I have a hand held shower which was very helpful. I also bought a hands free stand for my hair dryer from Amazon.

Button up shirts and pjs are a must.

There are helpful garments on Amazon that you can tuck your drains into. My favorite was a comfortable belly band with pockets for the drains.

I am a bit of a planner. I knew I wouldn’t be able to lift my arms. So I installed all smart bulbs before my surgery! So I could control them from my phone.

My tissue expanders have been filled by plastic surgery on almost a weekly basis.

So now I’m ready for the next surgery which other gals have told me is painful and daunting.

However, on the positive side, now I have great range of motion with both arms, although I will lose some of that with surgery #2. I can hold my grand children again and lift up a container of detergent. I can empty out the dishwasher. Very gently, I can do a few yoga poses, but the expanders are not comfortable. And my doctor is careful to make sure they don’t flip or leak.

It’s a long road. But women on this site have amazing personal stories. They’ve inspired me and encouraged me.

Good luck. Let me know if you need other creature comfort suggestions for post surgery.

Xo