Behavior of the psychology specialist with women with breast carcinoma

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer experience has several distinct phases, each characterized by a unique set of psychosocial problems. These phases coincide with aspects of the clinical course of the disease and related therapies.
Aim: A literature review of the characteristic psychosocial needs associated with diagnosis, primary treatment, special issues related to non-invasive breast cancer, completion of treatment and re-entry into the normal life, survival, recurrence and relief of advanced cancer was conducted.
Materials and Methods: The following research databases were searched: MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE and PubMed for the ten-year period with a focus on studies exploring the psychological problems of women with breast cancer.
Results: The psychosocial impact of breast carcinoma should be understood also in the context of other issues affecting women's care, quality of life and well-being, such as socio-economic factors and cultural factors, the availability of social support, access to health care and the presence of other chronic diseases or life crises.
Conclusion: Early breast cancer studies and cancer patients have been shown to benefit from individual psychological care, but they have not been adequately evaluated for metastatic breast carcinoma. Current studies do not provide sufficient information to determine the optimal type of care to be used or the optimal time and duration of such care in women with advanced breast cancer. For this reason, research needs to be done in this area, precisely because with the approach of death, carcinoma patients have the greatest need for psychological support.