I am finally starting to get my stamina back, one day at a time. Although I was told that the recovery from this surgery would be 6 weeks, it has been difficult to adjust.
I have received many books, journals and articles regarding breast cancer experiences. They have all been informative, supportive and encouraging. I want to recommend a wonderful book called Uplift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors by Barbara Delinsky (Thanks, Yuki.). It is a compilation of letters written by breast cancer survivors and those close to them. Some of the chapters are titled as follows: On Diagnosis: First Things First; Losing a Breast: Practical and Emotional; Radiation: Soaking Up the Rays; Chemo and Hair: Mane Matters; Humor: You Gotta Laugh; Men: By, For and About; Fast Forward: Five Years Later. It was wonderful to read of the many different decisions that have been made on treatment and the positive experiences from all the various paths. Reading this book helped me come to a comfortable decision for me and my life.
Even though the first mastectomy and pathology indicated that I had no cancer cells that had spread, I understood that there would be a higher risk of developing cancer in the other breast. As I thought about it, I felt that the concern and preoccupation of that risk would be an underlying stress for me for the rest of my life, continuing to have mammograms and biopsies due to the cystic nature of the remaining breast. I received that testimony from several women who had a mastectomy many years before saying that if they could go back and do it again, they would have had a bilateral mastectomy and encouraged me to go ahead. It made sense to me.
More soon . . .
Glad to hear you are doing well. I remember the recovery period from my reduction and it was slow, sometimes painful and often frustrating. Hugs and continued prayers, my friend.
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