My Breast Perspective

Car pillows, wedge pillows, chest pillows, body pillows, heart pillows… I love them all.

When I was researching items that would be helpful with recovery, I came across a lot of different suggestions for different types of pillows. Honestly, I would recommend every single one of them.

Car pillows. They make pillows that attached to your seatbelt that make driving more comfortable. I used it when driving home from the hospital and continue to use it even now as I’ve had a few weeks to recover. I found a set that not only included a seatbelt pillow, but also included a pillow to go around my waist/chest, which was surprisingly comfortable to rest my arms on. I think it will be helpful again when I have the second procedure. Bonus, it had a pocket that could hold my cell phone or snack or remote control, and still access while on T-Rex arm protocol.

Wedge pillows. Sleeping propped up with a wedge pillow in bed and a wedge pillow under my knees was helpful. The surgeon suggested doing this at least for the first week to help with swelling. I felt like this was pretty comfortable, but I liked sleeping in a chair better than in bed, so I didn’t use these pillows as much as I had anticipated.

Mastectomy pillow. I used the car pillow that wrapped around my waist as my chest pillow. It was just nice to have wrapped around me. I also used it when I would walk into my house and want protection from dogs jumping or big hugs.

Body pillows. These came with my wedge pillows as a set. It’s how I created my nest in bed to keep me from rolling onto my side. I actually loved the body pillows and used them when I was sleeping on the couch or in a chair. Since I couldn’t lift my arms, these would tuck in beside me, and I could lean my head on them, and it felt secure and comforting.

Heart pillow. I was given a heart pillow that was made by a charity. The nurse at the hospital gave it to me when I was discharged to go home. I was so grateful that somebody was thoughtful enough to make it as a gift. It was also an incredibly useful design as it can tuck under your arm, or around your neck, but what I found I enjoyed it for most was to hold when I slept cause it propped my arms just perfectly.

Other than pillows, here are a few other items I found very useful. (I have no affiliation with any of these products)

Zip up sweatshirt with internal pockets. My Surgeon gave me one that was donated by HopeChestCharity and it was great because it was easy to get on and helped with managing drains.

Waistband with pockets for drains. I bought this Waistband and loved the feel of it. It was like wearing leggings around my waist, which was actually really comfortable. It also made the experience of having drains less noticeable as everything tucked in including the tubing. I basically wore this 24/7 for two weeks as it was very comfortable to sleep in.

Book light. Basically, the first month you’re not supposed to reach out to the side or behind your body, which makes it hard to turn off a bedside lamp. Also, I like to read before I sleep, so it was nice to have my own book light that I could turn off when I was finished reading. A little bit of independence.

Button-up shirts and pajamas. Button or zip front shirts are a must for the first month if not more as it will be a challenge to get your mobility back enough to put a shirt on over your head.

Comfortable sports bra. I bought two of these Bras from Victorias Secret because they were comfortable, had a soft-breathable material and nice compression to minimize swelling. Find something you love as you will wear this around the clock for many weeks. My instructions are to wear this even when I sleep for the first eight weeks.

I suppose my breast perspective during recovery would be to gather items that make you the most comfortable. The medical care teams will share tips and give suggestions along the way. Feel free to reach out to the charities listed too.