[Coping with illness and body image following different surgical techniques in breast cancer]

Coping and body image were studied in 80 patients with breast cancer. We compared three groups, who had undergone different operative strategies: temporary expander prothesis (n = 19), excisional biopsy (n = 20) and modified radical mastectomy (n = 40). Instruments were: the Herschbach coping questionnaire, the Strauss and Appelt body image questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Patients after excisional biopsy showed significantly less illness-related stress than the other two groups, both in the number of all items named (p less than 0.02) and in the weighted total (p less than 0.05). Patients after modified mastectomy had chosen a different, "unfavourable" pattern of coping mechanisms than patients after expander prothesis or excisional biopsy: more resignation (p less than 0.05), less fighting and talking (p less than 0.05, respectively). In the body image questionnaire, no significant difference was found. However, in the semi-structured interview, patients after mastectomy mentioned more frequently that they avoided looking at the scar (p less than 0.05). These results underline the importance of preoperative counselling.