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Quality of life of women after mastectomy with and without breast reconstruction

Abstract Introduction: Breast carcinoma is the 2nd most common cause of female death resulting from malignant neoplasms in Poland. Breast cancer occurs in younger and younger women, and often develops in professionally active persons. It is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. A current method for the surgical removal of breast cancer involves an excision of the whole tumour with an adequate margin of healthy tissue while retaining the gland parenchyma and skin. A noticeable tendency recently observed in medicine is a complex approach to the patient, combining the treatment of the physical condition with mental considerations. Nowadays, the assessment of the quality of life of a patient is an essential element of clinical trials. The study objective is to assess the quality of life and social support for patients after breast surgery, differentiating between those who underwent breast reconstruction and those who did not. Materials and methods: Only female patients were enrolled in the study. In total, responses from 57 (100%) women were obtained. Of this group, 28 women (49%) underwent breast reconstruction. The mean age of the group was 55.09 years. The study was based on a survey prepared by the authors of this study and included socio-demographic data. The support provided by various people and organisations as experienced by the women participating in the study was also assessed. Another tool used was a questionnaire assessing the quality of life after mastectomy (EORTC QLQ-BR23) This provided the basis for an analysis of how symptoms or problems typical for patients with breast carcinoma affected quality of life. The Cantril Ladder was used to assess general life satisfaction. Results: The analysis of the results showed that more than 70% of the respondents received a substantial amount of support from their families. The patients with reconstruction assessed the level of mental support received from their family as slightly higher than the patients without reconstruction. The number of participants with breast reconstruction was 29 (50.88%), and without reconstruction was 28 (49.12%). The study showed no statistically significant differences in any aspects of the quality of life between the 2 study groups. The respondents assessed their quality of life as higher before the procedure than now. Thus, the surgery decreased their quality of life. However, the assessment of future quality of life (in 3 years’ time) is better than the assessment of the present quality of life. Conclusions: 1. Women who had undergone a mastectomy claimed that the biggest support came from their families. 2. There is no statistically significant difference between women with and without breast reconstruction regarding general quality of life or in the specific areas of the quality of life.