Glad you got thru your surgery ok.
Write down any question as it pops into your mind - those are the questions you should be asking.
Things you need to know:
what stage and grade is the cancer? Did they find it in lymph nodes? How many lymph nodes if any did they remove? Was there any muscle removed, or just breast tissue? How long do you need to heal before further therapy? What does the dr recommend in the way of exercises and nutrition for healing? How fast should you be increasing your activity? Does he expect any problems with lymphedema, and what should you be doing now to prevent it?
Don't worry too much about addiction to the pain meds - you shouldn't need to be on them that long. Especially if you get yourself up and about and moving around, and gently but persistently do your exercises to get your chest and shoulder back into normal functional shape. Gently using those muscles and keeping those tissues moving is really important toward preventing scarring that can bind up movement and cause a lot of restrictive pain later. Very gentle self-massage can also help with circulation and prevent scarring and lymphedema - but you need to know how long the dr wants you to wait before doing anything like that.
Also, make sure you're drinking plenty of fluids, especially water, and eating some good roughage. It's ok to take the pain meds if you need them, but constipation from pain pills (especially in light of just having had anesthesia) can be a problem. Make yourself start walking outside every day, work up to at least 20 minutes a day - it's great for the bowels, the sunshine will help you produce vitamin D3 which will help with energy levels as well as fighting off stray cancer cells. The endorphins from walking will help decrease pain and will contribute to a general sense of well-being. Plus you need the oxygenation to help metabolize away the anesthesia. (Plenty of water is important for detoxification of anesthesia also.)
Take care, and if you don't mind, let us know what you find out.
Sincerely,
Tre