[Qualitative investigation into the strain endured by breast cancer patients in initial in-patient therapy]

In-patient hospital stays and primary breast cancer operations put a strain on the affected women, about which little is known to date. In order to gain a better understanding of this stress situation, 42 primary operated breast cancer patients were surveyed in qualitative interviews during their in-patient hospital stay. Besides suffering from existential anxieties and uncertainties, typical stresses for the perioperative area are the fear of the anaesthesia and operation, the uncertainty felt while waiting for the histological findings, the first change of dressing and the fitting of a prothesis as well as post-operative physical ailments. The area of psychological strain by far exceeds that of physical strain. For this reason, professional care in the perioperative senological area should include the qualified psychosocial support of the affected women, in addition to their classic physical care.