Waking Up Changed

The moment you realize the cancer is finally OUT

Insights for Empowerment

Waking up from a double mastectomy is disorienting.

Groggy. Sore. Wrapped in bandages. Tethered to drains and monitors. Your chest feels tight, foreign, different.

But underneath all of that, there’s one overwhelming realization: the cancer is out.

It’s not in my body anymore. It’s gone. They removed it. I’m on the other side.

The First Moments

I don’t remember much from those first hours. Fragments. Voices. My husband’s face. Nurses checking vitals. The pull of surgical drains. Pain, but manageable.

What I do remember is this: relief.

Not relief that it was over, because it wasn’t. Recovery was just beginning. But relief that the cancer that had been living inside me since before April 5th was finally gone.

I had carried it for months. Felt it there even when I couldn’t physically feel it. Lived with the knowledge that my own body had betrayed me by growing something that could kill me.

And now it was out.

Physical Pain vs. Emotional Relief

The physical pain was real. Mastectomy is major surgery. Your chest muscles are affected. Movement is limited. Even breathing deeply hurts at first.

But the emotional relief? That was stronger than the pain.

I would rather hurt and be cancer-free than be comfortable with cancer still in my body.

Looking Down for the First Time

I didn’t look right away. The bandages covered everything. But I knew what was underneath. Or rather, what wasn’t underneath anymore.

My breasts were gone. Reshaped. Changed. My body would never look the same.

And I had to be okay with that. I had to accept that survival came with a cost. A physical cost that I could see and feel and would carry for the rest of my life.

But I was alive. And that’s what mattered.

Conclusion

If you’re about to have surgery or you’ve just had it, know this: waking up is the beginning, not the end. Your body will hurt. You’ll feel different. You might grieve what you’ve lost even while celebrating what you’ve gained.

All of those feelings can coexist. You can be relieved and sad. Grateful and grieving. Hopeful and hurting.

Give yourself permission to feel it all.

Encouraging Nuggets

Scripture for Today: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” – Psalm 147:3

Affirmation: The cancer is out. My body is healing. I am on the path to wholeness.