Abstract
AimThe present study is aimed at understanding the psychiatric morbidity among mastectomized women and in identifying differences in depression, anxiety, psychological impact and well-being based on psychiatric diagnosis.MethodOne hundred and sixty breast cancer patients who had undergone mastectomy and were on either on adjuvant therapies or on waiting list were interviewed. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) - Plus, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Impact of Event Scale and the Psychological General Well-Being Schedule were used.ResultsAround 68% of patients did not meet psychiatric diagnosis, while the remaining 32% patients were found to have psychiatric morbidity. Of these, 15% diagnosed with adjustment disorders, 13% patients with a major depressive disorder, while 4% patients with anxiety disorders. A significant difference in anxiety, depression, psychological impact and well-being was found among mastectomized women who were grouped on the basis of their psychiatric diagnosis.ConclusionPsychiatric morbidity is evident in patients. This study reinforces the need for identifying psychiatric disorders among women who are undergoing mastectomy, in order to provide adequate psychological treatment.
Highlights
Women diagnosed with breast cancer face a lot of challenges
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and post-traumatic stress disorder are prominent among these patients
Findings indicate that psychiatric diagnosis in mastectomized women comprises major depression, anxiety disorders and adjustment disorders, to the results of the study conducted by Tünel, Vural, Evlice, and Tamam (2012)
Summary
Women diagnosed with breast cancer face a lot of challenges. Breast cancer is associated with decreased quality of life and increased psychological distress (Compas & Luecken, 2002). Decreased self-worth and attractiveness, feeling deformed, inadequate, sad, embarrassed, frustrated, and/or a sense of loss are the major psychological concerns among breast cancer patients (Ashing-Giwa et al, 2004). Psychological reactions of patients who have undergone mastectomy were initially described by Renneker and Cutler (1952), and later by Maguire et al (1978). They emphasized the need for psychiatric treatment in breast cancer patients. Much of the expected psychiatric disorders in cancer patients are often unrecognized and untreated (Fallowfield, Ratcliffe, Jenkins, & Saul, 2001)
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