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Mastectomy Surgery for Treatment of Breast Cancer—We’ve Come a Long Way Baby!

AONN+ Blog published on October 18, 2021 in Breast Cancer
Lillie D. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, HON-ONN-CG
Editor-in-Chief, JONS; Co-Founder, AONN+; University Distinguished Service Professor of Breast Cancer, Professor of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Co-Developer, Work Stride-Managing Cancer at Work, Johns Hopkins Healthcare Solutions

Believe it or not, it was 50 years ago, and I was 17 years old, when I witnessed my first mastectomy surgery in the operating room. It was a total radical mastectomy. It was horrific to watch and more horrific to see the patient awaken in the recovery room, feeling her chest, and crying out. As a nursing student, I was speechless and lacked the right communication skill set to know how to comfort her, other than holding her hand. In retrospect, there really was no way to comfort her.


 
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