How to plan for recovery at home

After you leave hospital, you will need to continue taking care of yourself at home. Be guided by your doctor, but these general suggestions may help.

Pain
  • This is the most common side effect.
  • Take pain-relieving medicine as prescribed by your health care team.
  • If your pain isn’t under control, gets worse, or if the medicine causes side effects, talk to your surgeon, the nurse listed on your discharge paperwork, or your GP.
  • If the pain gets significantly worse, consider going to the emergency department.
  • For more on this, see Pain and cancer and listen to our podcast on Managing Cancer Pain.
Wound care
  • Follow any instructions you are given about how to care for the wound.
  • If the wound is left open, clean it with mild soap and warm water and pat it dry. Avoid putting lotions or perfumes on the wound and the area around it.
  • If you have dressings, you might need to keep them dry while you shower.
  • If adhesive strips have been used, they should fall off within a few weeks, or you will be told when to remove them. Removing the strips too soon might cause the wound to open.
  • Your doctor or nurse will remove any stitches or staples during a follow-up appointment.
  • Any bruising around the surgical site will fade over a few weeks. To avoid infection, don’t pick at any scabs around the wound.
  • Take the full course of any prescribed antibiotics to completely kill bacteria and prevent infection.
Eating and drinking
  • Some people feel sick after surgery. When you feel like eating, try basic foods such as rice and toast before going back to your usual diet.
  • Your health care team may instruct you to follow a special diet.
  • Eat fibre and drink plenty of water to avoid constipation, and avoid alcohol, especially if you are taking medicine.
  • Focus on eating a balanced diet (including proteins such as lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, milk, yoghurt, nuts, seeds and legumes/beans), to help your body recover from surgery.
  • See a dietitian for advice on managing special dietary needs or eating problems.
  • For more on this, see Nutrition and cancer.
Self-care
  • Unless you’ve been told otherwise, you will be able to shower. Gently wash your body and pat yourself dry. Depending on the type of surgery you had, you may not be able to take a bath for a few weeks after surgery. 
  • Avoid straining when going to the toilet, as this can cause a small tear around the anus (anal fissure) and/or swollen veins (haemorrhoids or piles). 
  • If you are taking strong pain medicine, your treatment team will suggest or prescribe a suitable laxative to prevent constipation. 
  • Some people have trouble controlling their bowel or bladder after some types of surgery. Incontinence is usually temporary. For support, see a continence nurse or call the National Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 66.
Drains and stomas
  • Some people go home with a temporary drain or tube near the surgical site to collect extra fluid leaving the body.
  • The hospital may organise a community nurse to visit you to empty the drain or tube. More commonly your health care team will show you how to keep the tube clean until your next appointment.
  • Some people go home with a stoma. A stomal therapy nurse will see you after the operation to teach you how to look after the stoma.
Daily activities
  • Check with your surgeon when you can start doing your regular activities and what to avoid – such as heavy lifting, driving or sexual intercourse.
  • Try to do some gentle exercise. This can help reduce tiredness, build up strength, lift mood and speed up a return to usual activities. The right exercise for you depends on what you are used to, how you feel, and your doctor’s advice.
  • You may need to organise some equipment to help you move safely, such as a walker or shower chair. Try to organise this before surgery so it is ready when you get home. A physiotherapist or occupational therapist will show you how to use this equipment.
  • For more on this see Exercise during cancer treatment.

When to call the doctor or go back to hospital

Contact your doctor immediately or go to the nearest hospital emergency department if you have any of the following symptoms:

  • increased bleeding, swelling, redness, pus or drainage, or an unusual smell from the wound or around any tubes, drains or stomas
  • a fever of 38°C or higher
  • chills or shivering
  • swelling in your limbs
  • sudden, severe pain
  • pain or burning when urinating
  • nausea or vomiting for 12 hours or more
  • trouble breathing, walking or doing things you could do before the surgery
  • other symptoms or changes that the surgeon warned you to look out for.

Key resource

Download a PDF booklet on this topic.

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Understanding Surgery

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More resources

This information was last reviewed in April 2019. View who reviewed this content.

Prof Andrew Spillane, Surgical Oncologist, Melanoma Institute of Australia, and Professor of Surgical Oncology, The University of Sydney Northern Clinical School, NSW; Lynne Hendrick, Consumer; Judy Holland, Physiotherapist, Calvary Mater Newcastle, NSW; Kara Hutchinson, Cancer Nurse Coordinator, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, VIC; A/Prof Declan Murphy, Urologist and Director of Genitourinary Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Caitriona Nienaber, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Prof Stephan Schug, Director of Pain Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital, and Chair of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The University of Western Australia Medical School, WA; Dr Emma Secomb, Specialist Surgeon, Hinterland Surgical Centre, QLD. We would like to thank the health professionals, consumers and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this title.

View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.

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