What is the fastest way to heal from a mastectomy? 8 ways to speed your healing recovery

You may be wondering just how and what you can do to heal from a mastectomy, in the fastest, safest way.

There are two methods that make the greatest difference:

1. Self-care after a mastectomy

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to participate in your own healing.  You do this by caring for yourself, with regular acts of love, nurturing and healing towards yourself.  

Now, you may ask, what types of care, why is it important and how can I possibly fit another thing into my schedule?

This is understandable.  Many of us lead lives where our schedules are too full, we don't prioritize our wellness and who can we trust to take advice from anyways?

My 30+ years of self-healing, 20 years as a professional healer and 7 years of working with mastectomy patients in my massage therapy practice has showed me how impactful regular acts of self-love and care towards yourself are.

Some examples of post-mastectomy self-care are:

• Self-massage: for breasts, scar tissue, circulation & mind-body connection.
• Meditation: to overcome anxiety, fear, doubt, overwhelm and help in orienting yourself towards a healing, hopeful mindset.
• Stretching: for tight chest, shoulders, neck and abdomen
• Strengthening: for weak muscles of arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, back.
• Journalling: for self-reflective time to make sense of your journey, what's happened so far, what's coming up in future. 
• Creativity: for healing your spirit, processing your experience and releasing pent-up energy. 

These activities will help you trigger your own innate healing mechanisms so your body, mind & spirit can work together to heal you, and birth you gently into your new life.

2. Seek out a trained healthcare professional familiar with mastectomy work

Depending on where you live, you may have professional healthcare providers, such as a registered massage therapist (RMT in Canada, LMT in the US), who is familiar with post-mastectomy care.

This can be especially advantageous for dealing with post-surgical side effects, complications, chronic pain, pathological scar tissue, lymphedema and other long-term challenges that can come from mastectomy and breast surgery. 

They will be able to support you in person with massage therapy treatments tailored specifically to your body, your side effects and presentations.  

Plus having a caring set of ears to listen to your story, witness your healing journey, celebrate your wins along the way is so important and can be a real strengthener for your spirits.

What if you don't have a trained post-mastectomy professional in your area?

The Mastectomy Guide's online programs "Getting Through the First 6 Weeks" and "Living with a Mastectomy" both support you through affordable online programs that can be accessed anywhere in the world.  As long as you have an internet connection, you can get the help you both need and deserve.

These programs are designed to help guide you through step-by-step processes, are based in real-world practices done with my massage therapy patients and have been shown to improve healing times, while also empowering you to take part in your healing.

Plus, they are affordable, so all women can access trained professional help no matter where they live, or what the budget.

What if I want to get treated by a professional, and do the program - will they cancel each other out?

No they won't cancel each other out.  In fact, that's the best combination, because then you get the caring hands of a trained professional, as well as guidance on all the home-care you can do between appointments.  It's the best of both worlds.

No matter which approach you take - just self-care, trained professional or combination professional/self-care - you'll be participating in your own mastectomy healing journey, and making all the difference for your healing trajectory.