Relationships between social support and social image concerns in Turkish women with breast cancer.

Ayse Ozkaraman,Guler Balci Alparslan,Ilkay Culha,Zehra Cicek Fadiloglu,Serap Gokce,Nedime Kosgeroglu

doi:10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.5.1795

Ayse Ozkaraman, Guler Balci Alparslan + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.5.1795

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Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer types in women and is amongst the most devastating and stressful events in the life of women. The external appearance of breast cancer patients usually changes due to the surgical and/or medical therapies used. An association may be found between social support perception and social appearance anxiety in patients with breast cancer in the period after mastectomy. Therefore, this study investigated the social appearance anxiety and social support status in women with breast cancer in our country. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in breast cancer patients undergoing treatment or follow-up in Medical Oncology and General Surgery departments. The mean age of the participants was 51.13 ± 8.48 years (range, 24-74 years) with nearly half of the patients (40.6%) aged 40-50 years. Of the patients, 39.1% had stage 3 breast cancer. The mean score on Cancer Patient's Social Support Scale (CPSSS) was 134.85 ± 9.35, and there was a significant difference in CPSSS total scores between the age groups, educational levels, self-reported income levels and stage of disease (p<0.05). The mean Social Image Anxiety Scale (SIAS) score was found to be 34.30 ± 9.35 (min:16, max:66) in women participating in this study. The CPSSS and SIAS scores of the participants were inversely correlated, and the SIAS score was found to decrease with the increasing CPSSS score but with no statistically significant difference (r=-0.110, p=0.217). Social appearance anxiety is higher in the patients with poor social support.

Highlights

The prognosis of breast cancer-one of the most common cancers in women increasingly improves due to the advances in early diagnosis and effective treatment of the disease (Dincer et al, 2007)
Data collection tools Data were collected by using a patient identification form, Cancer Patient’s Social Support Scale (CPSSS) and Social Image Anxiety Scale (SIAS)
14.1% and 11.7% of the patients reported no social support from a health care provider and an institution, respectively

Summary

Introduction

The prognosis of breast cancer-one of the most common cancers in women increasingly improves due to the advances in early diagnosis and effective treatment of the disease (Dincer et al, 2007). During the chemotherapy treatment in the first postoperative year, women usually report decreased attractiveness and loss of sexual function due to the changes in body image (Fobair et al, 2006; National Mastectomy and Breast Cancer Reconstriction Audit, 2011; Winters et al, 2011). An association may be found between social support perception and social appearance anxiety in patients with breast cancer in the period after mastectomy. This study investigated the social appearance anxiety and social support status in women with breast cancer in our country. The mean score on Cancer Patient’s Social Support Scale (CPSSS) was 134.85±9.35, and there was a significant difference in CPSSS total scores between the age groups, educational levels, self-reported income levels and stage of disease (p

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