EP379/#1028 Expectations and concerns of women prior to non-reconstructive breast cancer surgery

Objectives

We aim to identify patient concerns and expectations, especially regarding their body image and their reproductive and sexual life prior to non-reconstructive breast cancer surgery to include such information in the patients’ preoperative counselling.

Methods

This is a single-institution cross-sectional observational study based on a paper questionnaire to collect quantitative and qualitative data from a cohort of women due to undergo non-reconstructive breast cancer surgery between February 2022 and April 2022.

Results

A total of 27 women took part in the study. The mean age of the patients was 50.55 [18–80]. The mean reflection time between the announcement of the surgery and the operation was 61 days [11- 168]. The main concern of women regarding breast surgery is cancer recurrence (88.88%). When asked about their worries regarding their feminity, 55.55% of the women answered that they were not concerned and 66.66% associated the breast with feminity. Among the participants, 62.96% think that the intervention will neither change their partners’ opinions about them nor the quality of their sex life. When asked about their reproductive life, 14.81% fear a negative impact of the surgery on their fertility, and 11.11% fear a negative impact on their contraception. The fear of a negative change in their professional life is present in 40.74% of the participants.

Conclusions

Prior to a non-reconstructive breast cancer surgery, women have general reservations about having the surgery because of the fear of the recurrence of cancer per se associated with individual risks due to breast surgery such as a negative impact on body image and their professional life.