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Rehabilitation needs and breast cancer: The first month after primary therapy

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Summary

Breast cancer is the most common neoplasm in occidental women, yet very little information is available about the rehabilitation needs of these patients. This report reviews in detail the physical, psychological, social, and financial problems identified by fifty women during the first month after primary surgical treatment. The most frequently reported problems were physical and psychological. Patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy (MRM) are compared with patients receiving segmental mastectomy and primary radiotherapy (SM). There were few differences between the two surgical treatment groups; however, patients in the MRM group reported more difficulty with clothing and body image, while the SM group had more disruption of recreation and social activities. Information about the rehabilitation problems of patients with this common neoplasm should be helpful to patients and to the members of the health care team who are helping them recover.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, UCLA-San Fernando Valley Program, VAMC, Sepulveda, CA and the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Patricia A. Ganz

  2. Behavioral Rehabilitation Research Laboratory, VAMC, Sepulveda, CA and the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Cyndie Coscarelli Schag & Richard L. Heinrich

  3. Department of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Margaret L. Polinsky

  4. Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Virginia F. Flack

  5. BASE Unit, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Virginia F. Flack

Authors
  1. Patricia A. Ganz
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  2. Cyndie Coscarelli Schag
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  3. Margaret L. Polinsky
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  4. Richard L. Heinrich
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  5. Virginia F. Flack
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Ganz, P.A., Schag, C.C., Polinsky, M.L. et al. Rehabilitation needs and breast cancer: The first month after primary therapy. Breast Cancer Res Tr 10, 243–253 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01805761

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01805761

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