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Breast Cancer Rehabilitation

In recent years advances in cancer treatment have led to a prolonged survival rate for many people who receive a cancer diagnosis, and it is estimated that nearly half of all newly diagnosed cancer patients will survive for more than five years (Ganz, Schag & Heinrich, 1990, p. 883). Some cancer victims will be free of the disease, others will live with active cancer for many years and will need continuous treatment and may suffer considerable functional impairment as a result of the disease. For these people, rehabilitative interventions are appropriate.

Currently, cancer rehabilitation is concerned with many broad areas of human function such as physical, psychologic, social, and vocational activities. The major goal of contemporary cancer rehabilitation is to help each patient achieve maximal function in all of these areas within the limitations imposed by the disease or its treatment. Patients with breast cancer have unique rehabilitation needs. As the most common cancer occurring in woman, breast cancer also has a high frequency of both physical and psychological problems that follow primary breast cancer treatment. Regardless of the type of treatment, the patient must face psychosocial and cosmetic rehabilitation problems relating to the loss of the breast (Ganz, Schag & Heinrich, 1990, p. 888).

Restoration of physical appearance is very important for the woman who has undergone mastectomy. Sexuality and body image are often affected by breast cancer surgery, and this should be evaluated in each patient. A number of studies have shown that it is important for the patient's significant other to view the mastectomy scar early in the postoperative period, often at the time the patient herself first sees the scar. This will help the couple share in the loss and the recovery together. Some studies suggest that patients undergoing breast conservation procedures have less disruption of body image than those undergoing ...

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Breast Cancer Rehabilitation. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 13:15, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1692952.html