It has been one month since my prophylactic nipple-sparing bilateral mastectomy. How am I doing? Here’s an update:
I am now driving and no longer need a chauffeur.- Sneezing still hurts.
- Got clearance to resume aerobic exercise, but no running or jumping.
- Planning on going back to work in less than two weeks. Eek!
- I am not a fan of these expanders. They are hard as rocks.
- Still no expansions/fills. We are waiting for the necrotic area to heal. The large scab is slowly lifting at the edges. I trim it so it doesn’t get caught on clothes.
- Had the 14th and last hyperbaric treatment today. Not sure how much of the healing can be attributed to the treatments, though. The wound has definitely gotten better, not worse, so it didn’t hurt. My breast surgeon believes that it saved Dusky!
- Some bruising has developed on my right side, right over the fill port, so I stopped massaging the skin and expanders. Still using the cocoa butter oil with vitamin E.
- Making progress in getting back full range of motion. I am happy to report a small victory – I can now bring my arms all the way to the floor during the floor/towel exercise at 13:10 in this post-op exercise video. Big accomplishment!
- Haven’t gotten any bills yet, but I know they’ll be pouring in soon.
Overall my recovery has been going great! The complications I’ve had are relatively minor and I am happy that it has not been worse.
Saying NOPE to Breast Cancer 
Thank you for your blog. I’m just about to undergo surgery in a couple of weeks and you’re honest and informative entries have really helped. I hope you’re doing OK and healing well.
Thank you for the note! I’m glad that my story is helpful to someone. I am doing well, thanks – the necrotic area is slowly finishing the healing process. Once the scab is gone, we can start filling the expanders. I hope your surgery goes well and you have a complication-free and quick recovery! I’ll be looking for new posts on your blog.
Really Helpful health tips….Thanks
Thanks for writing this. I’m going through recovery with some necrosis. Yours looks a lot like mine and it’s really nice to see your progress. I’m looking into hyperbaric treatments.
You’re welcome. I hope ultimately you have good results. I’m now 8+ years out from this and have some scarring, but it has really faded. I look in the mirror now and don’t notice or think about it, but in that moment and period of healing, I was really concerned about how things would turn out. All the best!