Family relationships of the mastectomy patient: interactions with the spouse and children.
The relationships of the breast cancer patient who has undergone mastectomy with her spouse and children can undergo many drastic changes. The data indicate that male partners who are more involved in decision making and hospital visitation are more supportive and cope better themselves. Nonviewing of the surgical site can be a joint psychological problem not confined to the female patients only. Children will tend to express their distress in indirect and potentially symptomatic ways. The symptoms may differ between preadolescents and adolescents. Adolescent girls may be at special risk when their mothers have undergone mastectomy; maternal envy and competitiveness may result in increased friction between mother and daughter.
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000523:psychology*