Sandra Lee Opens Up About Her Heartbreaking Hysterectomy Experience

In 2015, Sandra Lee was told that she had an early form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). For a while, the Food Network star kept her diagnosis private, only telling those closest to her — including her ex-boyfriend, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. According to Good Housekeeping, Lee finally revealed to the public that she had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer when her diagnosis was leaked to the press. In the HBO documentary "Rx Early Detection: A Cancer Journey With Sandra Lee," the cameras are with Lee as she undergoes a double mastectomy to remove the cancerous tissue. Due to the surgery, Lee did not have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.

Seven years after her diagnosis, Lee revealed that she would be undergoing another operation — a complete hysterectomy — after her gynecologist told her that there were abnormalities present in her cells. Though she had meant to get the hysterectomy for years, she had been putting it off until she received formal word from her gynecologist. "While you're reading this post I am undergoing hysterectomy surgery," Lee said in an Instagram post last week. "A surgery that so many brave women before me have had to do. It'll be an everything out procedure and after that, there won't be any more halo of worry hanging over my head." 

Unfortunately, Lee's hysterectomy experience was more difficult than she might have imagined.

On March 4, Sandra Lee provided an update regarding her recovery from a complete hysterectomy, which she received on March 1. "Yesterday (my 3 day) was quite aggressive. All I can remember is I threw up all day — I was so sick, I threw up and cried, threw up and cried," Lee said in an Instagram post. According to the National Cancer Institute, a total hysterectomy typically involves removing the entire uterus and cervix. Lee revealed in her latest Instagram post that, shortly after her surgery, she became ill with an unknown infection that left her kidneys operating at only 30%, meaning that she had to go back to the hospital to undergo more treatment.

Thankfully, though, Lee had her fiancé, Ben Youcef, by her side the entire time. "Poor Ben didn't know what to do — rubbing my back, holding my hair back when I was bent over the sink, trying to get me to drink or eat or anything ... Ben stayed with me as long as he could, he was so patient. To take my mind off of what was going on we researched beautiful villages that we could drive to this summer. I have such Wanderlust. No amount of time on this beautiful planet will be long enough," Lee wrote in the Instagram post from Friday.

Since Friday, Lee has not posted any other updates regarding her recovery progress.