Two and a half weeks after undergoing a double mastectomy, Giuliana Rancic is opening up about the excruciating operation and its complications.
“I knew this was going to be a tough surgery, but I in no way want to minimize it,” Giuliana told Matt Lauer during an interview on NBC’s the “Today” show on Friday. “Yes, I’m two and a half weeks out, but up until a week and a half ago it was hell. It was horrible.”
The 37-year-old E! TV host also revealed she suffered from an unforeseen complication that made the recovery process even more difficult – she was unable to tolerate morphine, the pain medication used to manage her post-surgery pain.
“I went into surgery at 4 PM and got out around 9:30 PM,” she told Matt. “By 4 AM I had to get off the morphine because I was so sick and I thought to myself, ‘[If you throw up] you have to engage all of your chest muscles,’ and I just had my chest operated on.”
Though she’s “feeling great” now, Giuliana still relies on husband Bill Rancic to help her accomplish everyday tasks while she continues to recover.
“I can’t really turn much to put my seatbelt on,” she said. “He has to help me get in and out of bed, get dressed…it’s a lot of limited mobility and pain.”
The couple — who was given Giuliana’s breast cancer diagnosis while undergoing fertility treatments in an effort to expand their family – is looking forward to putting the pain of this year behind them and starting fresh.
“As soon as 2012 comes in, we’re not looking back,” Bill told Matt.
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