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This summer I got a prophylactic double mastectomy due to my breast cancer risk from being BRCA1-positive. I am an organizer and a preparer — making lists and checking things off makes me feel more calm and in control. When I went through ovarian cancer treatment three years ago, I created a spreadsheet for friends to sign up for shifts to visit me during chemo. So as the date of my prophylactic double mastectomy approached, I knew it was time to get organized: Make a list and buy all the things I’d need in advance.

I started out by Googling what products I’d need after getting a mastectomy, and there are plenty of product roundups out there on this topic. But I didn’t find them all that helpful. First of all, the lists were usually long, and filled with items I couldn’t see myself actually using or needing. Secondly, the recommended items were often expensive — a menagerie of pricy pillows and contraptions. “Buy or rent a recliner to sleep in the first few days” was a common suggestion. I have neither the money nor the space for a huge chair I’ll use for a week.

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Sure, a lot of the suggested items would be nice to have, but what was actually necessary?

What will I really need? I thought. What are the essentials? How can I prepare for this surgery without spending a fortune?!?

I did a little more digging, turning to friends in the cancer community and seeking out some of their recommendations, as well as picking through online product recommendations that weren’t necessarily geared toward surgery recovery or cancer. I considered what I’d really need, what would be nice to have, and what I deemed extraneous. Then I made a master list, broken down into categories, and populated it with items. This is what I came up with.

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It’s important to get all the things you’ll need after surgery, and the cost adds up quickly — there’s no way to avoid that. But I did this on a budget, and all the price points were on the lower end of the spectrum. You won’t find any $100 pillows or lounge chairs on this list.

PRO TIP: I started ordering my mastectomy products about a month in advance, and for clothing items I almost always ordered two sizes and returned the one that didn’t fit. When trying things on, I also took into consideration that I didn’t want anything to be too form-fitting, so I’d likely need to size up a little — I wanted tops to be roomy enough to comfortably accommodate any swelling in my chest (I got direct-to-implant, or DTI, reconstruction), bandages, and the bulky surgical bra I’d be wearing post-op.

BEST-KEPT SECRETBefore I dive into my list, if you’re preparing to get a mastectomy, the first thing you need to know before you buy anything is that there’s a nonprofit organization called BRCAStrong that provides all women undergoing mastectomies — regardless of genetic predisposition, financial need, or whether the surgery is prophylactic or part of cancer treatment — with a free pre-mastectomy care package that includes a lot of the essentials you’ll need, and really high-quality products at that. When you’re trying to prepare for your mastectomy, signing up to receive this care package is going to save you a lot of money. Which is why it’s at the top of my list of mastectomy must-haves.

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