What You Need Before and After Surgery for Breast Cancer

**Disclaimer: This post contains links to affiliate products.

What does someone need before, and after undergoing surgery for breast cancer? It can be daunting to go into surgery and not know how you’ll feel after or what you’ll need. After surgery, the main goal everyone wants to achieve is fast recovery. The incisions on your body will more than likely cause the area to become stiff and weak, limiting your daily tasks. Talking with your doctor about your daily routines can help you create a plan to maximize any strenuous activity. Here are some items that can better prepare you for before and after your surgery to maximize your own comfort. 

Clothing

When you pack your bag for the hospital be sure to pack comfortable clothing that you can slip over the lower half of your body so you don’t need to lift or move your arms as much. Choosing comfortable, soft, and breathable fabrics, like cotton materials, can help mitigate the growth of bacteria that cause infection. There may be some leakage initially from your incisions after the surgery so anticipate that any clothes you bring may get dirty. Some may decide to undergo reconstructive surgery after the mastectomy and if you choose that option some tissue will be removed from your abdomen so some clothing options that zip or button in the front may be more comfortable as well as some easy on leggings or loose fitting sweatpants. There may be some leakage initially from your incisions after the surgery so anticipate that any clothes you bring may get dirty. Some material recommendations are flannel and cotton. Some options may even have inside pockets where you can place potential ports, IV’s, or drainage bags inside.

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Bras

 The hospital will provide you with a surgical bra and asking for an extra will help ensure you’re able to wash the bras and switch off with a clean one when needed. Our organization wrote an article about our top 10 favorite mastectomy bras if you wanted to purchase more on your own. We recommend you bring safety pins with you to attach drains to your mastectomy bra after surgery. You may not be able to take a shower immediately after surgery so packing sanitary items such as baby wipes, dry shampoo, and hair accessories such as a headband and hair brush can be useful when you begin to feel dirty and want to freshen up. Another option to think about is going to a walk-in hair salon to get a good hair wash and blow out. Typically, it can cost anywhere from $10-12. In addition, non-slip socks can help improve your stability and balance to help you maintain safety while moving around in the hospital and avoid injuries. Having other comfort items such as facial and body moisturizers, lip balm, and lozenges to help ease the discomfort that comes from the tubes that were placed in your throat during the surgery are other helpful suggestions. 

https://www.goingbeyondthepink.org/blog/top-10-best-bras-post-mastectomy  

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At Home Items

Preparing your home and car for after surgery are also very important steps one should take before the surgery. For the ride home, having a seat belt cushion is a big help to prevent pain that can be caused by the overlap of the seatbelt on your chest and/or abdomen incision. Organizing and stocking your bedroom, laundry room, and bathroom to accommodate for things such as decreased mobility and inability to carry heavy objects is another suggestion that may help ease your recovery process. Making prepared comfort meals that you can freeze and stocking up on snacks such as fruits, veggies, pretzels, or yogurt is another great tip. You want to make sure you are getting sufficient amounts of nutrients like fiber and protein within your diet to enhance the healing process. It is recommended to move cutlery, plates, and drinking cups and other items from your kitchen that may be in high up or hard to reach places into easily accessible areas to prevent discomfort from surgery.  Putting bulky items such as rice, milk, laundry detergent, shampoo, and conditioner, etc that may be too heavy for you to lift after surgery into smaller containers is another great tip. The clothing you plan to wear during recovery can be made easily accessible to you if you prepare outfits and extra pairs of items in a place that’s retrievable from your bedside. Laying down flat after surgery may be uncomfortable so investing in an elevated sleeping pillow, keeping extra pillows in your bedroom, or buying a body pillow may increase your comfort and aid in a comfortable night's rest post-op. Mastectomy pillows that place cushion over the incisions offer comfort for moving around and hugging your loved ones after surgery. Showering after surgery may also be a little difficult so having a shower lanyard that allows you to wash yourself hands free is a big benefit while purchasing an adjustable shower nozzle and shower chair can help make showering post-op easier. It's also advised to avoid using products in the shower that contain dyes and fragrances that may cause discomfort around your incision. When stripping your drains using products such as coconut oil may assist in easy removal. 

Check out this video about post mastectomy tips and JP drains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjW_jIM8gbE

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Information from this blog post was taken from Breastcancer.org (Before mastectomy: 10 tips to get ready for your hospital stay and recovery. (2020, February 10. Breastcancer.Org. https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/mastectomy/tips-for-hospital-and-recovery) and Penn Medicine. (Sealy, A. (2018, October 23). If ya don’t know, now ya know" - a guide to what is needed Post-Mastectomy. Penn Medicine. https://www.pennmedicine.org/cancer/about/focus-on-cancer/2018/october/list-of-post-mastectomy-items-needed )