Post-surgery breast asymmetry linked to worse QOL

By Anne Harding NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The symmetry of a woman's breasts after she undergoes lumpectomy to treat breast cancer can have a major impact on her quality of life, new research suggests. Women left with pronounced asymmetry after breast-conserving surgery were more than four times as likely to feel stigmatized as a result of their treatment, about twice as likely to fear that their cancer would return, and more likely to have symptoms of depression than women with only mild to moderate breast asymmetry, Dr. Jennifer F. Waljee of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her colleagues found. "Breast asymmetry may be a constant reminder to these patients of their disease and treatment process, impairing their psychological adjustment after treatment," Waljee and her team suggest in their report. "While we can... [read full story]