Hello, had mastectomy yesterday, in at 7.30am and discharged at 12.30. Wound has been glued and has dissolvable stitches, no dressings of any kind. Am feeling very sore and emotional, and feel so scared to look at myself. Just wondered how you all coped with this, would be so grateful for any ideas that helped. There won’t be anyone checking my wound so I know I will have to look soon.
Thank you,
Helen
Hi Helen
Just wanted to reach out and give you a hug. What you are feeling is absolutely normal. You have very recently had a physical and emotional assault on your body and you need time to process it. I had a Mx in 2017, after 3 lumpectomies on the same breast. I also had glue and not stitches and it healed very well. At first the wound looked a bit scary and there was quite a bit of bruising. I am big breasted (H cup) so it was a large incision. However, you will heal quickly, amazing what the body can do. The most important thing is to rest when you need to, you will still have anaesthetic circulating so that can make you feel rubbish for days. Drink plenty of water and take painkillers regularly, even if you don’t think you need them, as they will help with the inflammation that surgery always causes. Start to do the first set of exercises very gently and don’t push yourself too hard. Remember whether you have one breast or two you are still you.
Keep in touch, especially at this very difficult time.
Love Francine 
Dear Helen,
Reading your post reminded me exactly how I felt around the time of my mastectomy in October 2017. I felt completely traumatised at the thought of it, but the lovely ladies on here really helped me to work through the emotions.
The first time I looked, I just kind of ’ braced myself’ and , I am unsure if you are intending to have a reconstruction, but I want to, so ladies on here said to remember it is only temporary. Also the silicone prosthesis that you get six weeks after the operation is absolutely amazing. You are even given a stick on nipple, and no-one would be able to tell which one was the false breast when I am wearing clothes!
Having said that, if you are intending to not have a reconstruction, there is a very supportive Facebook Group called Flat Friends which will be helpful.
Anyway, going back to how I braced myself to look, it really wasn’t as bad as I feared. It was a neat incision, and it wasn’t as horrific as I had imagined. One of my friends said to me, shortly after, ( in a caring way) ’ the only person who is bothered about it is you’, meaning that my family and friends were just thrilled that I was still around, and couldn’t give two hoots about whether I had one breast or two. Then I also found it useful to think, hey, we are all different sizes and shapes. Very few women are completely happy about their bodies, but we are used to highlighting our ’ best bits’ and disguising our ’ worst bits’. So, I try to look at it that way.
I was actually meant to have my reconstruction next month but it has been delayed due to the coronavirus. But I hope one day, I will be the proud owner of a new left breast!
Best wishes
Jane xxx