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Women diagnosed with breast cancer have many physiological and psychological adjustments to make following mastectomy. The present study described in this article sought to determine the decision-making patterns used by two groups of women. Nurses need to be well informed and professionally confident to provide the individualized care and support deserved by women throughout the breast cancer trajectory. A major outcome of such professional care is confident women who understand their disease, treatments, and methods to manage stresses as they occur.

Breast reconstruction after mastectomy is chosen by approximately 10 percent of Australian women. Younger women are more likely to have this surgical procedure. This suggests that there may be many factors determining this choice. Sixty-four women who wore an external postmastectomy breast prosthesis and 31 women who had postmastectomy breast reconstruction participated in the present study. The purpose was to gain a greater understanding through semi-structured interviews of why women who had breast reconstruction chose this alternative and why women who wore the external postmastectomy breast prosthesis elected not to have reconstruction. The study also ascertained how difficult it was for the women in both groups to decide their particular breast restoration alternative. The most frequently endorsed reasons for not having breast reconstruction in the prosthesis group included: (1) not essential for physical well being, (2) not essential for emotional well being, (3) not having enough information about the procedure, and (4) not wanting anything unnatural in the body. When each member of the group was asked to identify a major reason for not having reconstruction, two predominant issues emerged: (1) fearing complications and (2) perceiving themselves as being too old for the procedure. Twelve percent of the prosthesis group experienced difficulty in making the decision not to have reconstruction. Three factors accounted for this difficulty: (1) the lack of family support, (2) the inability to have a specific type of reconstruction, and (3) the perception that friends and acquaintances saw the surgery as cosmetic. The most frequently reported reasons given by the reconstruction group for having reconstruction included: (1) to get rid of the external breast prosthesis, (2) to be able to wear many different types of clothing, (3) to regain femininity, and (4) to feel whole again. The least influential factors were to improve marital and sexual relations. The major reason cited most often by this group was to feel whole again. None of the women in the reconstruction group experienced any difficulty when deciding their method of breast restoration. What factors are taken into consideration by women when they decide either to have or not to have reconstruction need to be understood by physicians. This knowledge will assist them in conveying appropriate information regarding alternatives and will help them deal with the women's concerns and/or misconceptions.

Sixty-four women who postmastectomy wore an external breast prosthesis and 31 women who had breast reconstruction participated in the present study. It was hypothesized that the breast prosthesis group would exhibit more negative attitudes towards their mastectomy experience compared to the breast reconstruction group. Using the Mastectomy Attitude Scale (MAS) the results indicated that both groups were satisfied with their bodies, had a positive outlook towards their lives, implied that sexuality entailed more than having breasts, and felt that mastectomy treatment was necessary to save their lives. Neither group concealed that they had a mastectomy, however, they were not prone to discuss their mastectomy experiences. The findings from the study indicate that the women postmastectomy already had or developed positive attitudes towards themselves and life in general and the method chosen for breast restoration had no apparent impact on these attitudes. Reasons for the sample's positive attitudes are discussed.

The perceptions of three groups of women regarding their body image, self-concept, total self-image, and self-esteem were compared. The groups included 64 women who had mastectomies and wore external breast prostheses, 31 women who had mastectomies and underwent breast reconstruction, and a control group of 78 women who had not experienced mastectomy. The body image, total self-image, and self-esteem mean scores indicated that the prosthesis and reconstruction groups had more positive feelings regarding their bodies than did the control group. There were no significant differences in self-concept among the three groups. These findings challenge a common assumption that mastectomy automatically results in psychiatric morbidity caused by an altered body image and suggest that health professionals should not make assumptions about how a woman will psychologically respond to mastectomy.