'It's an exciting day:' Sandra Lee returning home to recover after surgery and can't wait to see her birds and sleep in own bed

• e-mail

TV chef Sandra Lee announced she will be returning home to recover at the Westchester home she shares with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo after having double mastectomy surgery last week.

Lee has been sharing photos and news about her recovery via Facebook and on Monday a member of her team posted a photo of the 'Semi-Homemade' star with her sister Kimber.

The caption of the photo revealed Lee is heading to Lilly Pond, the nickname she gave her home. 

Scroll down for video 

TV chef Sandra Lee announced on Monday that she will be returning home to recover at her Westchester home

Lee has posted pictures of flowers she received (left) as well a portrait her friend recently gave her (right)

Lee has also shared photos of Governor Andrew Cuomo, 57, with her both before and after her surgery

The post read: 'Today is an exciting day! 

'Sandra is going home to Lilly Pond with her sister Kimber and Governor Cuomo.

'She is most excited to sleep in her own bed — and see Phoenix and Halo when she wakes up!'

When Lee returns home, she is excited to see birds 'Phoenix and Halo when she wakes up'

Before the good news on Monday, her team thanked everyone who has shown support for Lee by sending 'beautiful flowers, fruits, chocolates, notes and emails'.

Robin Roberts, Elton John, David Furnish, Rita Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jon Bon Jovi, Judith Light, Martha Stewart, Mario Batali, Bryant and Hillary Gumbel, Jane Fonda and Dr Oz were all mentioned by name in the Sunday post. 

Lee has also shared photos of Governor Cuomo, 57, by her beside during her recovery and a shot of a picture her friend drew for her.

In a video update on Saturday, she said: 'Both Rita and Christina Applegate told me I was not gonna be as strong as I thought I was gonna be, and they're right.

'It's really throwing me for a loop.'

Applegate and Wilson are both breast cancer survivors, according to People. 

In the video, she said the operation and the heavy doses of medication since, have 'thrown me for a loop'.

She said doctors weren't lying when they warned that 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. 

'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.' 

Lee has been very open about her tough recovery following a double mastectomy that saw her lose 15 pounds

Governor Cuomo has been comforting his girlfriend and has been sleeping at the hospital since her surgery

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

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

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

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 she later had what nurses call 'hit-by-a-truck' day.  

'The nurses say this is characteristic of the recovery road,' her team wrote in and older 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 was pictured kissing Cuomo in a photo shared to Twitter by her team on Wednesday of last wek

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

Lee shared this image on Thursday last week as she thanked friends for sending her beautiful flowers

She has been joined at the hospital by her sister, Kimber, who will possibly be taking over the nursing care duties when Lee is 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 last 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.

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. 

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

Cuomo and Lee, pictured together in April, should be returning to the home they share on Memorial Day

'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 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.'

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

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. 

She has encouraged other women to get mammograms earlier than the recommended age of 50.

Lee achieved fame in the early 2000s for hosting popular Food Network show Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee.

Before dating Governor Cuomo, Lee was married to KB Home CEO and philanthropist Bruce Karatz for four years. 

While she acts as a step-mother to Cuomo's children, Lee has no children of her own.