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The weight of the breasts affects women's center of gravity; thus, the loss of a unilateral breast directly causes a change in body posture when a patient undergoes unilateral modified radical mastectomy. This study examined the effects of an external prosthesis (EP), immediate breast reconstruction (IBR), and body shape training (BST) on body posture, body image, and quality of life in patients with breast cancer with unilateral mastectomy through an 18-month follow-up. Of 810 individuals screened for eligibility, 722 were enrolled and randomly assigned into three comparison groups (EP [n = 157] vs. IBR [n = 157]; EP [n = 143] vs. BST [n = 143]; IBR [n = 61] vs. BST [n = 61]). IBR was superior to EP and BST, with the smallest trend of changes in body posture, the least body image distress, and a higher quality of life. EP was superior to BST, with the smallest trend of changes in body posture, the least body image distress, and a higher quality of life. IBR can effectively maintain body posture and improve body image, thereby reducing body image distress and improving quality of life. It is the best choice for breast cancer patients with unilateral mastectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal anxiety questionnaires such as the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety are widely used to measure preoperative anxiety. There is currently major interest in developing a surgery-specific preoperative anxiety assessment tool. This study aimed to develop and validate a preoperative anxiety scale for breast cancer patients. Based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews, a draft assessment scale was constructed. The scale was revised after two rounds of Delphi consultations, and a pilot test was performed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale. The final scale consisted of 33 items and a global rating score with an item-level content validity of 0.765–0.941. The scale-level content validity was 0.964. Exploratory factor analysis identified four principal factors, and the cumulative contribution of variance was 62.49%. The load value of the common factors of each item was > 0.5. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a chi-square test of the goodness of fit (휒2/df) = 1.617. The root mean square error of approximation was 0.042, the goodness of fit index was 0.886, the comparative fit index was 0.956, and the normal fit index was 0.894. The total and dimension scores were positively correlated (r = 0.513–0.767, p < 0.001) with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety scores. The scale developed in this study has good reliability and validity and can be easily used to objectively assess preoperative anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: This study examines the effects of family beliefs and family strength on individual resilience and quality of life among young breast cancer survivors and determines whether family strength mediates the effect of family beliefs on individual resilience and quality of life. Background: Family beliefs and family strength are meaningful protective factors that help individuals maintain physical and mental health. However, few studies have explored their impact on individual resilience and quality of life. Design: This study was conducted using a cross‐sectional survey with a three‐stage, stratified, convenience sampling approach following the STROBE guideline. Methods: From August 2020 to May 2021, participants completed the shortened Chinese version of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, the Chinese version of the Family Beliefs Scale, the Family Strength Scale and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Breast scale. Structural equation modelling and multiple mediation effects test were used to explore the relationships among family beliefs, family strength, individual resilience and quality of life. Results: The final model accounted for 44.5% and 78.1% of the total variance of individual resilience and quality of life, respectively. Family beliefs had an indirect effect on both individual resilience and quality of life through family strength. Family strength had a direct effect on individual resilience and had both a direct and an indirect effect on quality of life. Family strength mediated the correlations of family beliefs with individual resilience and quality of life. Conclusion: Mobilising family resources to establish healthy family beliefs and exert positive family strength will help increase young breast cancer survivors' individual resilience and improve quality of life. Relevance to clinical practice: This study confirms the importance for clinical nursing practice to mobilise family resources and develop interventions centred on family beliefs and family strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine the status of spouses' burdens of caring for breast cancer survivors and explore the relationships between social support, family resilience, breast cancer survivors' individual resilience, and caregiver burden.Methods: A cross-sectional study on 315 young and middle-aged breast cancer survivors and their spousal caregivers was conducted at eight comprehensive Southwest China hospitals. The caregivers completed the Chinese Version of the Family Resilience Assessment Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview, while breast cancer survivors completed the shortened Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the relationships among social support, family resilience, survivors' individual resilience, and caregiver burden.Results: Caregiver burden (45.76 ± 14.66) was found to be severe. Social support, family resilience, and individual resilience were significantly negatively associated with caregiver burden (β =  - 0.421, P < 0.001; β =  - 0.208, P < 0.001; and β =  - 0.444, P < 0.001, respectively). Individual resilience not only partially mediated the relationship between family resilience and caregiver burden (b =  - 0.052; 95% confidence interval, - 0.110, - 0.018), but also partially mediated the relationship between support and caregiver burden (b =  - 0.045; 95% confidence interval, - 0.102, - 0.011).Conclusions: The findings suggest that higher social support, family resilience, and individual resilience tend to ease caregivers' burden. Healthcare workers should have an in-depth understanding of the care needs of survivors, actively contact social security departments and social organizations to provide financial, technical, and emotional support, and provide family-based care-skills training and psychological counseling to reduce spousal caregivers' burdens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the accuracy of virtual touch tissue imaging and quantification (VTIQ) in the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions under four different precompression levels. The shear wave velocity (SWV) ratios of lesion to surrounding tissue were also added for diagnosis.Methods: 167 female patients with breast lesions were included in this single center prospective study. VTIQ was performed under four different precompression levels. The SWV of the lesion, surrounding fat, and gland tissue were measured at the same depth as much as feasible 7 times. The breast lesions studied were all histopathologically confirmed. The VTIQ parameters were compared between precompression levels. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the diagnostic performance of each parameter of the VTIQ.Results: The VTIQ parameters of the malignant lesions were significantly higher than those of benign lesions in all precompression levels (P < 0.001). SWV of the lesion, fat, and gland tissue increased significantly with increasing precompression. The VTIQ parameters had great diagnostic performance for breast lesions in all precompression levels (AUC = 0.765-0.911). There was no significant difference between the precompression levels of the lesion-to-fat SWV ratio and the lesion-to-gland SWV ratio in benign and malignant lesions, and the cut-off coefficients of variation were 7.42% and 8.55%, respectively.Conclusions: Precompression can increase the stiffness of breast lesions, fat and gland tissues, but does not reduce diagnostic value of VTIQ parameters in the breast. Under different precompression levels, the diagnosis of breast lesions by the ratio of the SWV of the lesion to the surrounding tissues is more stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]