My Mastectomy

So this one will completely depend on your diagnosis, where you are in recovery and if you’re battling multiple treatments may mean some of this is not achievable. But if any of this is accessible to you, I would 100% recommend preparing your body physically well ahead of surgery.

As I had almost a year to prepare, I was already going to the gym 3-4 times a week and stuck to this throughout 2024, attending HIIT classes and working on my strength. One of the biggest things I found REALLY helped was being able to squat low. During the first days post-surgery you can’t reach anything – but if you can squat low, dropping something isn’t an issue!

On my first night at home after being discharged I was squatting in the kitchen to try and get the bloody flowing around my legs, avoiding DVT was on my mind constantly in those few weeks, so movement of body parts that were fine was my go to.

Red Light Therapy has been something I’ve been interested in for years, I bought one of the red light masks years ago before they became mainstream, so paid well over the odds! But my red light mask is still going strong and I started to use it on my boobs before surgery. I’d put it on each side for 20 mins at night time. The benefits of red light therapy are that it helps to regenerate cells, restore cell function, helps with pain and supports healthy blood flow. So I thought doing this before surgery (and after) could only help!

After surgery I also attended The Northwest Wellbeing hub where I supercharged the red light therapy by using one of their amazing red light beds – more on that in my post-surgery blog.

Another thing I found myself in a research rabbit hole about was Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). HBOT is a treatment whereby you go into a pressurised chamber and then 100% oxygen is breathed in. HBOT is said to help the body heal and repair tissue and work to restore the body to normal functioning – so I was interested and wanted to invest in trying this. I completed 2 sessions ahead of my surgery and continued afterwards too. Now from the research, it seems many more sessions will be needed to support the body when recovering from cancer, injury and surgery – so this is something I am committed to continuing.

For both my HBOT & Red Light Therapy (post surgery) I travelled to The Northwest Wellbeing Hub in the Wirral. So anyone who is located near the area or wants to travel to this fab place, with an even better story – you can get 10% off by following this referral link:

As we all know, Alcohol is a known carcinogen and toxic to the human body, but something that is so engrained in our society that you’re almost the outcast if you don’t drink. I’d consider myself ‘sober curious’ and have definitely gone spells these last few years avoiding drinking and definitely drinking in moderation. One day maybe I’ll go all the way and become fully sober, but I definitely wanted to give my body a break and the highest chance of successful recovery when planning surgery, so I didn’t drink for 2 months leading up to the surgery and continued for 6 weeks after. I had a few sips at Christmas and New Year, but nothing too major. I wanted my body to focus on healing from a mastectomy, not be distracted processing alcohol, so this was the best choice for me.

So I’ll summarize the above in the list you’ve come to expect, and add a few more things in that I did to help prepare my body for major surgery:

Body Preparation For Mastectomy Surgery

• Gym – 3-4 times a week – focus on strength
• Squatting!
• Red Light Therapy – using mask
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
• Quit alcohol
• Regular facials (including the morning of my surgery!)
• Book Hair & Beauty appointments week ahead of surgery
• Aim to eat whole foods, drink lots of water and prioritise sleep!

Make sure before trying any new treatment or product you consider your own personal circumstances and ask a medical professional for advice on what will work for you.

Danni xx

I receive points towards further treatments if the referral link above is used. Affiliate links are also within this post.