Psychosocial problems of women after mastectomy

An exploratory study was conducted among 250 women who had undergone mastectomy for cancer breast with the objectives of assessing the socio-economic condition, psychological problems and the social problems of the women in the areas of family life, marital adjustment and peer relationship. Results showed that a vast majority (92%) of the respondents suffered from severe depression; worried about external physical appearance in the absence of breast (72%); have moderate level of anxiety (66%) and have fear of losing feminity (53%); one-fifth of them said that they were using prosthesis after mastectomy.