I had a mastectomy on the 27th Jan 2011 and on the Sat less than 48 hours after the op i was told by one of the Ward Sisters to go and have a shower something that i had avoided till then by having a simple wash to freshen up. The Sister made me stand infront of the mirror and look at the scars and compounded it by saying that mastectomy surgery is easy and i should pull myself together and then left me crying in the bathroom and at visiting My Parents and Husband went mental because i was a broken snivling wreck of a person
WTF!!! How heartless. It makes me so cross when I hear stories of nurses, who have chosen a caring profession, to not only be uncaring, but bordering on cruel (of course the majority are wonderful and fantastic at their jobs). If you weren’t ready to see your scars then you shouldn’t have been forced to look. Maybe it was something you wanted to do with your husband. And if medical professionals feel it’s necessary to force you to look before you are ready (though I can’t think of a valid reason why) this should be accompanied by empathy and compassion and counselling if needed.
So sorry to hear you had such an awful experience.
X
You poor girl. Everyone here knows how hard it is to take the first look and it should be in your own time and on your terms. Mastectomy may be physically easier than most other surgery but it is shocking to wake up without a very visible part of your body.
I can’t imagine why that woman is working with breast cancer patients. The nurses on my ward knew I was finding it hard to look and told me to take my time. On the fourth day I managed it on my own in the shower room. I was glad I had done it before going home but it took all my strength.
I hope you are now safely home with people who love and understand you and can support you as you recover from a miserable experience.
You will always find great support here from women who know exactly what you are going through.
Take care.
Love,
Kathleen
Hi,
This is horrendous and I really feel for you. So very sad that you had such a nasty individual on the ward what was she thinking? Disgusting treatment when you have gone through so much and feel so vulnerable, a little kindness goes a long way and sadly this person was lacking in everyway possible, there is no excuse for this kind of behaviour, please take care xx
What a truly horrendous experience for you. That Sister has behaved in an appalling manner on so many levels and the fact that it was a sister and not a ‘normal’ nurse makes it worse if you see what I mean. It won’t help you but when you feel up to it, I would register a formal complaint via PALS ( or get a family member to do it for you). It may stop someone else going through the same ordeal.
I wish you a speedy and problem-free recovery.
Liz
Hi what is wrong with people especially the nursing profession do they open thier mouths before thinking.i couldnt look and especially touche my mastectomy scars. After i had my ovaries removed i had a little melt down and a nurse said she felt i hadnt felt i had dealt with my cancer issues.my ex boss also said after my mastectomy from the neck up you wouldnt know anything was seing with you. Perhaps we should start a thread so these people could read before opening their mouths. My rant over
Enjoy the test of the weekend
L
X x