QUALITY-OF-LIFE AMONG MASTECTOMY PATIENTS USING EXTERNAL BREAST PROSTHESES

Background: Most women who undergo mastectomy for breast cancer use ex ternal breast prostheses, Yet, little is known about patterns of use, satisfaction levels, and quality of life associated with their use as compared to other options, Patients and Methods: We report longitudina l, self-report questionnaire data regarding prosthetic use from 592 It alian mastectomy patients. Women who report satisfaction with their pr ostheses are compared on medical, demographic, and quality of life var iables to a matched sample of women who report dissatisfaction, We als o compare matched samples of women who do not use prostheses and women who had reconstruction to Prosthetic users, Results: Most women used and were satisfied with their prostheses. However, there was a small g roup of women who were dissatisfied. These women reported greater disr uption to their sense of feminility and worse quality of life in some areas, We found few differences between prosthetic users and women who used either of the other two options available following mastectomy - taking no action to restore the appearance of the amputated breast or having reconstructive surgery, Conclusions: No one technique for rest oring the appearance of the mastectomized breast is necessary to optim ize quality of life for all women. Physicians should describe the opti ons to women, along with the average satisfaction rates for women choo sing those options, and help women to make the best personal decisions .