Abstract

ROSSI, Leandra  and  SANTOS, Manoel Antônio dos. Psychological consequences of the sickening and treatment of women affected by breast cancer. Psicol. cienc. prof. [online]. 2003, vol.23, n.4, pp. 32-41. ISSN 1414-9893.

As it is evidenced in the literature, the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer affect the emotional condition of women. This study aimed to investigate the psychological reverberations associated to sickening in women affected by breast cancer who had already been submitted to mastectomy (total or partial), radiotherapy and chemotherapy. An individual semi-structured interview was used with 10 patients aging from 41 to 50 years old. The results show that the psychological reverberations vary according to the sickening and treatment phase (pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment), affecting the psychosocial adjustment in different ways in the identified phases, impairing the quality of life of affected woman.

Keywords : Breast cancer; Quality of life; Psychosocial adjustment.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )