Breast Cancer:Surgery and Radiation

Health Journey

Breast Cancer

  1. Start Here
  2. Risks and Symptoms
  3. Breast Cancer Tests
  4. Understanding Your Diagnosis
  5. Choosing Treatment
  6. What You May Be Feeling
  7. Surgery and Radiation
  8. Drugs and Side Effects
  9. Your Body Image
  10. Metastatic Breast Cancer
  11. Life After Breast Cancer
  12. Survivor Stories

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Video

My Double Mastectomy Wasn't So Bad After All

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"I was very surprised, over time, at how little discomfort there was" (2:58)
Betsy recalls the almost pain-free day she got a double mastectomy with reconstruction and sailed smoothly into recovery.

Click the thumbnails below to watch more real stories.

  • Breast Cancer Almost Pain-Free Surgery Doctor-Patient Video
    Surgery Wasn't That Bad
    Betsy liked the closure and the morphine
    ( 2:58 )
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  • Breast Cancer Surgery Implants Doctor-Patient Video
    Implants Right Away
    I wanted to put reconstruction behind me
    ( 1:26 )
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  • Breast Cancer Surgery Chemotherapy Doctor-Patient Video
    Surgery Was a Relief
    Karen did chemo before surgery
    ( 1:16 )
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  • Breast Cancer Surgery Treatment Plan Doctor-Patient Video
    Plan Ahead
    Surgery is no place for treatment decisions
    ( :37 )
    Watch Video

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The day Betsy went in to have both her breasts replaced with implants was a long one, but nowhere near as difficult as she expected. At no point in the stretch between her early morning hospital arrival and the post-op visits of plastic surgery interns did she experience great pain or discomfort—partly because of the morphine drip in her arm.