The impact of scars on health-related quality of life after breast surgery: a qualitative exploration

ConclusionWomen can experience a diversity of scar characteristics and symptoms, which play a central role in the perceived impact on HRQOL. Since scarring can have a considerable impact on HRQOL, scarring after prophylactic, oncologic and reconstructive  breast surgery should be given more attention in clinical practice and research.Implications for Cancer SurvivorsConsidering scarring as a common late effect after breast surgery and understanding the variety of experiences, which could impact HRQOL of women, can be beneficial in sufficient information provision, expectation management, and informed decision making.
Source: Journal of Cancer Survivorship - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research