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Influential Forces in Breast Cancer Surgical Decision Making and the Impact on Body Image and Sexual Function

  • Breast Oncology
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Shared decision making with one’s partner and body image satisfaction may affect surgical choices of breast cancer patients. This study analyzed whether partner opinion was associated with choice of operation and whether comfort level with one’s partner was altered postoperatively.

Methods

A prospective anonymous survey was administered to breast cancer patients who underwent breast surgery between 2000 and 2014. Categorical variables were compared by χ 2 or Fisher’s exact test.

Results

Women who elected to undergo mastectomy with reconstruction (MR) placed greater emphasis on their own decision making than on input from their partner, surgeon, or others (56.5 vs. 8.3 vs. 23.2 vs. 12, respectively), whereas those who chose lumpectomy (L) placed similar weight on surgeon input and self-input (44.2 vs. 42.7 %). Only 7.5 % of all patients identified their partner as the greatest influence on their surgical choice. Preoperatively, the L group was the most comfortable with their partner seeing their chest (91.9 % L vs. 83.9 % MR vs. 75.9 % mastectomy alone (M); p = 0.01), and postoperatively, the comfort levels for all were remarkably decreased. Furthermore, if a patient was a candidate for L but chose MR, the role her chest played in intimacy dropped more compared with those who chose L (83.8 % L vs. 91.7 % MR; p = 0.3 preoperatively to 65.1 % L vs. 42.9 % MR; p = 0.01 postoperatively).

Conclusions

When making surgical decisions, most patients indicate that they value their own opinion over that of others. Mastectomy, regardless of reconstruction, leads to a significant reduction in comfort with one’s partner postoperatively compared with lumpectomy. This information may be helpful in counseling couples at the time of consultation for breast cancer treatment.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Christy Gandhi, BA, and Paige McCann, MS, RN, WHNP, for all of their help with data collection.

Disclosure

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Program in Women’s Oncology, Women and Infants Hospital Breast Health Center, Warren Alpert School of Medicine/Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Rebecca M. Kwait MD, David Edmonson MD, Ashley Stuckey MD & Jennifer Gass MD

  2. St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates, St. Peter’s Hospital, Albany, NY, USA

    Sarah Pesek MD

  3. Department of Gynecologic Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Michaela Onstad MD

  4. Center for Health Policy and Research, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Melissa A. Clark PhD

  5. Division of Research, Women and Infants’ Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA

    Christina Raker ScD

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  1. Rebecca M. Kwait MD
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  2. Sarah Pesek MD
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  4. David Edmonson MD
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  7. Ashley Stuckey MD
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  8. Jennifer Gass MD
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Correspondence to Rebecca M. Kwait MD.

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Kwait, R.M., Pesek, S., Onstad, M. et al. Influential Forces in Breast Cancer Surgical Decision Making and the Impact on Body Image and Sexual Function. Ann Surg Oncol 23, 3403–3411 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-016-5365-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-016-5365-2

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