'It's really thrown me for a loop': Sandra Lee reveals emotional and physical struggle to recover after double mastectomy that saw her lose 15 pounds in just five days

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Sandra Lee, 48, underwent a double mastectomy in a New York City hospital on Tuesday and has been sharing photos of her recovery
She revealed she has lost 15lbs in 5 days and the medication is grueling
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 57, accompanied his girlfriend to the operating room and has been at her side since the surgery
Her team posted online that she was in a lot of pain on Thursday but she could leave the hospital as early as Friday

By Lydia Warren and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 00:35 EST, 24 May 2015 | Updated: 03:20 EST, 24 May 2015

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TV chef Sandra Lee has described her emotional and physical struggle following a double mastectomy that saw her lose 15 pounds in five days.

Speaking in a video posted online on Saturday, she said operation on Tuesday, and the heavy doses of medication since, have 'thrown me for a loop'.

She has support in the form of her boyfriend, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and shared pictures of him by her beside.

Nonetheless, she said doctors weren't lying when they warned recovery would be tough.

'They're right,' she said, looking tired. 'It's really thrown me for a loop. I lost about 15 pounds in five days, and not just my boobs.

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'This morning was the toughest': Sandra Lee has been very open about her tough recovery following a double mastectomy that saw her lose 15 pounds in just five days. She said the medication has been grueling

'It's a lot of drugs and it's a lot of nausea.. I just don't feel very good, but I'm going to get better.'

Her message came after she shared a series of touching photos of Governor Cuomo caring for her in hospital.

Cuomo, 57, has been sleeping at the New York City hospital where the 48-year-old has been recovering since undergoing surgery on Tuesday, according to the New York Post.

In photographs shared online by Lee's team, he can be seen kissing and tending to his girlfriend as she lays in her hospital bed, while she nuzzles up against him in another.

'He's very sweet,' a spokeswoman for Lee, 48, told the Post. 'It's been interesting to see. He's a really good man. He's been there 110 per cent.'

By her side: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is pictured comforting his girlfriend Sandra Lee following her double mastectomy on Tuesday. He has been sleeping at the hospital since her surgery

Following the surgery 'he had his hand on her forehead and was saying, "You did great, Sandra. You did great",' the spokeswoman said. 'She seemed to be comforted by it.'

The spokeswoman said that the day after surgery, Lee felt good but yesterday was what nurses call 'hit-by-a-truck' day. On Twitter, she shared a photo of her being checked in her hospital bed.

'The nurses say this is characteristic of the recovery road,' said a message posted on her Facebook page by her team.

'Sandra was up and hopeful, so the setback today was daunting. She is hoping tomorrow will be a better day.'

Lee could be released as early as today and will return to the couple's Westchester home. They have lived together for four years.

Comfort: She is pictured kissing Cuomo in a photo shared to Twitter by her team on Wednesday

Support: The couple are pictured in the New York City hospital where she has been undergoing treatment

Recovering: Lee said she felt more pain on Day 3 after surgery - what nurses call 'hit by a truck' day

All smiles: Lee shared this image on Thursday as she thanked friends for sending her beautiful flowers

WHAT IS A DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN SITU (DCIS)?

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the earliest stage of ductal breast cancer, and makes up one of every five breast cancer diagnoses each year.

It is a non-invasive breast cancer which forms in the ducts of the breast and can become invasive - spreading to the tissue around the ducts - if left untreated.

In situ means 'in its original place'. In other words, the cancer has not yet spread and it is at Stage 0 - the earliest cancer can be diagnosed.

The prognosis for women who catch breast cancer at this stage is excellent and the vast majority recover.

However, it's believed that 25 to 50 per cent of women who develop DCIS will develop another form of invasive breast cancer within 10 years, usually in the same breast.

Most women are diagnosed with this form of breast cancer on a mammogram since DCIS does not usually create a lump large enough to be felt through a self-exam.

Other symptoms include breast pain and bloody discharge from the nipple.

Treatment for DCIS includes a lumpectomy, radiation and depending on the case, a mastectomy.

Source: WebMd

She has also been joined at the hospital by her sister, Kimber, who may take over the nursing care duties when Lee heads back home.

In an earlier message on her official Facebook page, 'Sandra Lee's team' wrote that Governor Cuomo had walked his girlfriend to the operating room after she refused a gurney.

The couple were seen departing the Trump International Hotel in Manhattan early on Tuesday morning, with Governor Cuomo planting a tender kiss on his longtime partner.

The message read in part: 'After Sandra stepped in to an operating gown, the governor joined her dressed in scrubs - with a neat tie underneath.

'When the medical staff rolled a gurney in to wheel Sandra to the O.R., she said she'd rather walk. And so she did, with the governor by her side down the long hospital corridors...

'Once Sandra was in the O.R., Governor Cuomo stayed by her side until she fell asleep, and the surgeons got to work.'

The celebrity chef revealed that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer in a tearful interview on Good Morning America last week.

Her doctors caught the cancer early and she underwent surgery to remove a lump from her breast, she said.

Lee was specifically diagnosed with a form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ - DCIS for short - which takes root in the milk ducts and can become invasive over time if untreated.

In the interview with Good Morning America, she said she had just finished a photo session for the Most Beautiful issue of People on March 27 when her doctor called to tell her the life-changing news.

Sandra Lee speaks from hospital bed after double mastectomy

Preparation: Cuomo drove Lee to the New York City hospital early on Tuesday morning ahead of her surgery

Toegther: Cuomo and Lee, pictured together in April, could return home as early as Friday, her team said

'I walked off the set, and 20 minutes later my doctor called and told me I had breast cancer,' Lee told Robin Roberts, herself a cancer survivor.

'I didn't even cry, I was stunned...You know, and that's just how fast life turns. It turns on a dime.'

Lee said that Cuomo, 57, was just as shocked as she was when she called to tell him about the diagnosis, but that he has been extremely supportive.

The last month has been extremely trying, she said.

'It beats up your body, and it beats you up emotionally,' she said. 'I wasn't going let it rob me from one day of happiness.'

She ultimately decided to undergo a double mastectomy on the advice of her doctors. Both the cancerous breast and the healthy breast - which she has been told is a 'ticking time bomb' - were removed.

Domestic goddess: Lee pictured above whipping up a meal in an episode of her popular Food Network show 'Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee' (right) and left, at the Met Gala last year

Sandra Lee opens up about her battle with breast cancer