Breast cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in women nowadays. With the advancement of medical technology, widespread early diagnosis of breast cancer, increasing public awareness of self-care, and good treatment results have greatly extended the survival period of breast cancer patients, and the 10-year survival rate of breast cancer patients in China has now reached 70%. The demand of a large number of breast cancer patients for long-term quality of life after surgery has also become increasingly prominent. Psychological change process of breast cancer patients Generally speaking, most of the patients have difficulty in accepting the diagnosis of tumor in the short term. On the one hand, they are eager to cure the tumor through surgical treatment, but on the other hand, they are worried that the integrity of body function will be damaged by surgical removal of breast, and their feeling and self-esteem as a woman will be threatened, so they are in an extremely contradictory state and have intense psychological reactions. In the early post-operative period, many patients are afraid to face themselves in the face of the long scar and asymmetric chest wall, and cannot face the permanent loss of part of their “feminine mark”, which makes it difficult for them to adapt to the changes after mastectomy and subconsciously classify themselves as disabled. During the post-operative rehabilitation period, the impaired movement of the shoulder joint on the affected side caused by the surgery and the decreased function of the upper limb affect the ability to work and perform household chores, and also bring psychological burden to the patients, easily causing anxiety, depression, frustration, hostility, sadness, discouragement, anger and other negative emotions. In terms of family life, sexual desire decreases due to limited limb movement and physical stamina due to continuous postoperative chemotherapy, and sexual life decreases or even disappears. Some patients avoid their spouses because they feel less attractive as a woman due to the loss of breasts. There are also a considerable number of patients who deliberately refuse to have sex for fear that sex will accelerate the metastasis or recurrence of their cancer. Measures to alleviate patients’ psychological problems Clinical studies have found that close to 90% of post-operative breast cancer patients have different forms of psychological disorders. If these emotional problems are not effectively addressed and resolved, the long-term accumulation will not only affect the patients’ quality of life, but also their immune function and endocrine system, thus increasing the chances of cancer recurrence. Thus, the following measures can help reduce patients’ psychological barriers: 1. Prefer breast-conserving surgery The results of large-scale clinical trials show that there is no significant difference in the long-term survival rate between breast-conserving treatment and traditional radical surgery, while patients treated with breast-conserving treatment have more advantages in terms of appearance and functional preservation. Therefore, surgical experts are needed to take advantage of modern medicine to develop the best treatment plan while maximizing the preservation of breast shape and upper limb function for patients. 2.Strengthen family psychological guidance Patients with postoperative breast cancer inevitably experience great psychological pressure, including loss of self-confidence and self-recognition, fear of rejection or neglect by their partners, which may lead to long periods of anxiety and depression after surgery. The understanding, tolerance and love of family members, especially partners, will undoubtedly help patients to overcome the psychological difficulties. It should be noted that the care of family and friends for breast cancer patients should also be measured. After recovery, it is better to stop treating patients as patients, because excessive care can sometimes make patients have low self-esteem. 3. Insist on post-operative rehabilitation exercises Under the guidance of doctors, active cooperation in receiving standardized upper limb functional rehabilitation exercises after surgery can enable many patients to recover the preoperative function of upper limbs to the maximum extent. Generally speaking, the first two days of postoperative exercise should be started, at this time, mainly to restore the mobility of the fingers and wrist joints. On the second to fifth day, it is the exercise of the elbow joint, on the seventh to tenth day, it is mainly the exercise of the shoulder joint, and after the tenth day, the patient should actively carry out the “wall climbing” exercise by himself, i.e., make the action of “climbing upward” with his fingers on the wall, and try to make his arm “climb” higher and higher day by day. After the 10th day, the patient should actively perform “wall climbing” exercises, i.e. “climbing upward” with the fingers on the wall, and try to make the arm “climb” higher and higher every day, so as to restore the upper limb function. If conditions permit, patients should be encouraged to rejoin society about six months after surgery, return to their jobs, or rejoin their original family roles, so that they can forget that they are ‘patients’ as much as possible, which is conducive to psychological recovery.