Mastectomy recovery: What to expect after breast removal surgery
Mastectomy is the scientific term for the surgical removal of the breast. It is frequently used to treat and prevent breast cancer. It can be performed on just one side of the body or on both at the same time.
But how long does it take to recover from a mastectomy fully? How long will you have to stay in the hospital? And, will you ever really feel normal again?
Here are the answers to these and other...
How to relieve nerve pain after a mastectomy
Between 25% and 60% of people who have surgery as part of their breast cancer treatment will also experience a side effect known as post-mastectomy...
Husband and wife face dual breast cancer diagnoses
Teresa and Billy Mayo have shared almost everything during their 46-year marriage. But the couple recently shared something they never anticipated...
What is a mastectomy?
Last updated Sept. 5, 2024
A mastectomy is one of the most well-known types of breast cancer treatment. MD Anderson breast surgeons perform more than 550 mastectomies each year. But not every breast cancer patient needs this surgery.
“At MD Anderson, our multidisciplinary care teams specialize in personalized care and will help determine what type of treatment is best for you and if that includes surgery, specifically a...
Why I’m glad I chose MD Anderson for breast cancer treatment
With cancer treatment — as with life — you can only make decisions based on what you know at any given moment. But new information becomes...
5 things I learned after my double mastectomy
As a former nurse in MD Anderson’s Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), I felt pretty familiar with breast cancer surgery. So, I thought I knew...
Breast cancer survivor grateful for personalized mastectomy and reconstruction decisions
Frances Arnoult had a double mastectomy, but she never had to see what she would have looked like without breasts. That’s because her MD Anderson...
Breast cancer treatment revealed courage I never knew I had
Before I started breast cancer treatment at age 35, I had all sorts of ideas about how difficult my life was about to get. In a way, I was...
Why I waited 10 years to have breast reconstruction
Maybe I’m a late bloomer. After being diagnosed with triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) in August 2007, I had a double mastectomy...
Finding purpose in my breast cancer diagnosis
Rebecca Stedman believes that every experience had in life serves a purpose, and cancer is no exception.
“Just as I felt like I was...