Recovery after mastectomy can involve emotional adjustment as well as physical healing.
Breast cancer survivor Sophie Makuva describes rebuilding confidence, while psychologist Maureen Ngari explains why emotional recovery differs for every woman.
Life after mastectomy can bring relief from breast cancer alongside grief, uncertainty and changes in confidence. For some women, emotional recovery continues long after the immediate demands of treatment ease.
October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, drawing attention to survivors and the challenges that can follow treatment. Those challenges include adjusting to a changed body, managing difficult emotions and rebuilding self-esteem.
A woman may feel grateful to have survived cancer while also mourning the loss of a breast. These feelings can coexist, without making her any less courageous or thankful.
Life after mastectomy: A survivor’s adjustment
Sophie Makuva, a breast cancer survivor and leading nurse at Lion’s Eye Hospital, faced fear after losing one breast. She describes initial confusion and denial, alongside worries about how others would judge her.
However, sessions with a therapist helped Makuva accept the changes to her body. She also began searching for a breast prosthesis to help her feel more comfortable.
Hair loss during treatment affected her confidence too, prompting her to buy wigs. Her experience involved both emotional challenges and additional expenses beyond the operation itself.
Recovery can also mean becoming familiar with scars, altered sensation and changes in how clothes fit. Looking in a mirror may bring relief for one woman but sadness or shock for another.
Emotional recovery follows no single path
Psychologist Maureen Ngari of Hearted Stories emphasises that women experience recovery differently. Some feel relief after surgery, while others experience distress or move between several emotions.
Initially, a patient may focus on surgery, pain management, medical appointments and further treatment. However, emotional concerns may become more noticeable once those immediate demands begin to ease.
Understanding the need for surgery does not necessarily remove the difficulty of living with its consequences. Changes in body image can affect self-esteem, relationships and a woman’s sense of femininity.
Yet these effects are not universal, and each woman’s response may differ. Physical healing and emotional adjustment do not always follow the same course.
Personal choices about a changed body
Some women choose breast reconstruction, while others use external prostheses or decide against reconstruction. Although reconstruction can restore breast shape, it does not always reproduce the original breast or resolve emotional concerns.
The operation itself also varies with the disease, medical circumstances and, where appropriate, the patient’s preferences. A total mastectomy removes the breast, whereas a modified radical mastectomy also removes certain lymph nodes.
For eligible patients, skin-sparing and nipple-sparing procedures may retain some breast skin or the nipple. A bilateral mastectomy involves removal of both breasts.
Knowing what a procedure involves can help women prepare for physical changes. However, that understanding does not necessarily prepare them for the emotional adjustment that follows.
