title: Women with cured breast cancer a study of mastectomy patients in North Carolina.
abstract: A study of 49 postmastectomy patients in North Carolina, four years following the surgery, revealed that the women did not feel they had been prepared for their postoperative experiences; were not, in general, familiar with Reach to Recovery as a supportive organization, nor perceived it as such; only occasionally examined their remaining breast; and had a number of persisting physical complications. The extent of physical disability was found to be related to the quality of life inasmuch as women with a high number of physical symptoms were much more likely to have a higher number of symptoms of depression than women with fewer complications. Social supports mediated the effects of surgical complications on mental outlook, but only up to a point. Sexual adaptation was found to be associated with the quality of the marital-sexual relationship and its importance to the woman.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D001828:Body Image; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012917:Social Adjustment