Investigating the Relationship between Social Support and the Attitude of Mastectomy Patients toward the Choice of Breast Reconstruction Surgery

Breast reconstruction surgery is one of the options available for reducing the psychological effects of mastectomy, improving body image, and alleviating the psychosocial conditions of breast cancer survivors. Family structure and communication with friends and community members deeply affect the type and severity of problems faced by individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between family social support and the attitude of mastectomy patients toward breast reconstruction surgery.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 137 breast cancer patients who had undergone mastectomy. Patients referred to Omid Hospital in Mashhad who met the criteria for entering the study were selected using the convenience sampling method in the fall of 2017. Data were collected using a standard questionnaire for assessing attitudes towards breast reconstruction surgery after mastectomy (including 21 items with binary answers of “I agree” and “I disagree”) and the Perceived Social Support from Family Scale (including 20 items with answers of “yes,” “no,” and “don’t know”). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The mean scores for attitude towards breast reconstruction and social support were 17.14 ± 2.35 and 14.75 ± 2.85, respectively, which shows that the patients under study had a favorable level of social support. There was a significant relationship between social support from family and attitude towards breast reconstruction (r = 0.17, P = 0.04). There were significant differences in attitude towards breast reconstruction among participants with different levels of education and number of children (P = 0.03 and P = 0.01, respectively), while significant differences were observed in perceived social support from family for variables of education and economic status (P = 0.01, P = 0.003, respectively). No significant relationship was found between other individual characteristics and either social support or attitude.

By making women aware of the challenges and benefits of breast reconstruction, a positive attitude towards reconstruction can be created in them so that they can experience a successful reconstruction by accepting the support of those around them, and their quality of life after cancer can improve.