InstagramTwo and a half months after getting a preventive double mastectomy, The Bachelor's Lesley Murphy announced via Instagram Monday that she has undergone breast implant surgery.
The political consultant, who competed for Sean Lowe's heart on TV in 2013, announced in April that she carries the BRCA 2 gene, putting her at a higher risk of developing breast cancer; Murphy's mom is currently in remission from her own breast cancer diagnosis three years ago.
After Murphy's double mastectomy, doctors placed an expander in her chest to stretch the tissue and make room for her breast implants; she later received regular injections of a salt-water solution to inflate the expander before undergoing the second surgery. As Murphy recounted in another Instagram caption Sunday, "In just 83 days, I went from a completely flat chest in horrific pain to somewhere around a comfortable C-cup. Well...as comfortable as I can be in these expanders. The best way I can describe them is like two big boulders on my chest."
Painful as it was, Murphy doesn't regret her decision.
"Knowledge is power and I feel powerful knowing I kicked cancer's ass before it could kick mine. The past 3 months have been a whirlwind. Thank you to all of my followers, readers, friends and family from the bottom of my heart for all of your messages and support," Murphy told her followers. "I wish I could adequately explain how much you have helped my recovery process."
Monday's breast implant surgery was a success, and Murphy even shared a post-op picture from her hospital bed at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with her 227,000 fans. "Happy with a 100% chance of swollen. Exchange surgery was a success and a huge difference from the double mastectomy surgery," she wrote. "After 3 hours I woke up and drank some ginger ale, saw my mom, discussed things with my sweet nurse and was wheeled out of my favorite hospital...where I felt like we hit every bump in the road on the way home. Ouuuuch."
Murphy's plastic surgeon, Dr. Eric J. Wright, considered "many different variations and sizes" before deciding on 500 CC implants, "which is actually smaller than my expander size when you take into consideration those CCs plus the bulky expander," Murphy said. She made sure to thank Wright personally " for ridding me of those boulders and giving me my normalcy back!"
"You are a magician," Murphy told him, "and I am in awe of your talents."
"Thanks also to everyone @uamshealth for treating me like a queen ever since I first walked through your doors at the beginning of March. What an incredible experience this has been," Murphy wrote in conclusion. "#lesleysbreasties #lesnipsbrcainthebud #breastcancerawareness"