What's it like to get a double mastectomy?

I'll be having a simple mastectomy soon. How painful is it? How active can I be at first? What's the approximate recovery time? How long is the average hospital stay?

10 years ago I had bi-lateral mastectomies. I also had reconstruction surgery at the same time. I was amazed at how little pain I had. Don't get me wrong, it is painful but in just a dull ache kind of way. Considering I had tubes coming out of my stomach and from under both arms I still did really well. I was in the hospital for 5 days.
I couldn't raise the arm on the side where the cancer was and the tissue and lymph nodes were removed. But, just following the doctors advice and reaching each day brought back the range of motion fairly quick.
After the surgery I had to take it pretty easy for two to three weeks but still moved about quite a bit. If you are doing mastectomy only and no reconstruction you will be back to a regular schedule quick, maybe in a week to 10 days.
I pray all will go well with your surgery and treatment.
God Bless.

Since every woman's surgery is different you'll need to ask your surgeon to get an accurate answer to your questions. I have fitness clients who've had mastectomies and they say that one of the main factors is the number of lymph nodes that are removed. The lymph nodes help with the healing process, and if they haven't been affected by the cancer your path to recovery (and beyond) will be easier.

You can also do research on the sites below. Some of them have message boards where cancer survivors answer your posts.

Good luck!