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Abstract

There is a noticeable change in the approach with which women nowadays seek help for diseases like breast cancer, primarily due to awareness campaigns associated with it, but what happens after the procedure is of great significance too.This cross sectional study focuses on the several psychological connotations attached to mastectomy and how the patients cope with it.The sample size consisted of 88 in patients at the different surgical units of the Civil hospital, Karachi from January 2012-December 2014; who had under gone mastectomy. The questionnaire was administered before they were discharged i.e., within 3 days of the surgical procedure. The patients were asked if they were willing to participate in this study, those who agreed signed the consent form and then it was preceded by asking them questions from a standardized tool. A self made questionnaire was constructed keeping in mind the nature and specification of the disease, which consisted of 20 questions related to anxiety and depression, a mixture of psychological and physiological symptoms attached to it. There were a total of 88 patients out of which 36 (41%) were aged [51 to 60] years, 24 (27.2%) of the patients lies under age category of [41 to 50] years, age category of [61 and above] were 17 in number (19.3%) whereas the least number of patients i.e., 11 (12.5%) comprised of [30-40] years of age, which happens to be the youngest of all the age categories. The pattern of depression and anxiety was found to be similar among all age categories i.e., severe level of depression and anxiety was most prevalent whereas moderate level of such symptoms was followed by it, relatively fewer patients felt mild or no depression symptoms. It was concluded that going through mastectomy leads to moderate to severe level of depression and anxiety, primarily because the females feel incomplete and insecure after losing a part of them.

Biography

Sara Khan is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and runs her own clinic for mental health. Currently she is associated with The Indus Hospital, a charitable hospital in Karachi and is serving as Head of the Counseling Department nationwide for Global Fund’s TB Program, Pakistan. She is also a Member of Editorial Boards online and in local journals.

Email: sara.khan@industbcontrol.org