The Bachelor US alum Lesley Murphy is opening up after undergoing a preventive double mastectomy on April 11. Murphy decided to have the surgery after testing positive for the BRCA 2 gene mutation, which greatly increases the chance of developing breast cancer.
The Arkansas-based travel blogger, who appeared on Sean Lowe’s season, posted a photo on Monday of herself in her “Sunday best” as she deals with the difficult healing process. She said that her mother has been a big help in assisting her after her surgery.
“My mom washed and dried my hair today,” said Murphy, 29, who explained that she currently can’t move her arms fully. “She dresses me in the mornings. She also measures my drains twice daily which are the tubes you see coming out of my lovely red apron I never take off. She’s the freaking best. She slept in my hospital room and bed at home for the first few nights, helping me in and out of bed and giving me meds at horrid hours to control the pain.”
Murphy said she sometimes deals with severe pain at night, but is happy overall with how her body is healing.
“I have to sleep on my back in the exact same position every night,” she shared. “Sometimes when I make the wrong movements it feels like my chest is detaching from my body, but all in all, I think my upper half is healing nicely! Sure, it’s sunken in and lumpy because what you see are deflated expanders that were put in, which will gradually get filled every two to three weeks as I get ready for reconstructive surgery.”
“I feel lucky because my surgeons only made one vertical incision on the lower half of both breasts while saving skin and nipple,” continued Murphy. “So while all breast tissue is (hopefully) gone, I retained some of the old me! Happy Sunday. God is good. #LesleysBreasties #LesNipsBRCAintheBud #BreastCancerAwareness #FightLikeAGirl”
Murphy explained in a previous Instagram post that she decided to undergo the mastectomy because breast cancer runs in her family.
“My mom was diagnosed almost three years ago to the day and came out a badass survivor!” she wrote. “It’s because of her diagnosis that I underwent genetic testing and can now do something about it. Knowledge is power.”
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com
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