Most breast surgeons have had similar experiences in treating patients with breast cancer, and a significant proportion of women live with chronic psychological depression or anxiety, which increases the risk of breast cancer. A large body of clinical data also shows that the treatment of glandular disease and various psychological disorders are closely related.
About 1.3 million people worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and about 400,000 people die from this disease, which has been the first of female malignant tumors in women’s census, much higher than other malignant tumors. Modern medical research shows that 30-75% of patients are related to psychological factors and life situations. In fact, the influence of psychosocial factors on people’s health is more extensive and complex than previously thought. The following is a discussion of the relationship between breast disease and psychological disorders.
I. Psychological problems caused by the presence of breast problems
The population of outpatient visits is divided into the following types.
1, subjective discomfort caused by psychological panic
This group of women has been experiencing breast pain for a long time and understands that the breast is a high incidence site for cancer. There exists high anxiety that they may have breast cancer. And the panic and anxiety caused by pain is the main psychological driving force for patients to visit the clinic.
2. Transient anxiety caused by attending breast disease screening physical examinations
Nearly half of the women who attended the annual physical examination of their units found hyperplasia, nodules, or malignant tumors. There was no significant anxiety among the patients with breast hyperplasia, and most of them knew that breast hyperplasia was a common problem. Patients with nodules and suspected malignant tumors, on the other hand, showed varying degrees of anxiety, fearing bad news and seeking professional help.
3. Women who need open surgery biopsy due to breast disease
Their anxiety level will continue to be high until the biopsy results are known and their anxiety level can be reduced to the general anxiety level. This group of women, both in the outpatient clinic and in the operating room, have a need for relevant information, most importantly to know if their test report is malignant. Even with benign results, some women are unable to eliminate their anxiety. These women tend to have higher levels of health anxiety, perceived stress, fear of breast cancer treatment and general sexual anxiety.
4. Patients who postpone the consultation
A subset of women who are younger, have lower income, less education, and a fatalistic view of breast cancer will delay going to the doctor and seeking help. Another group of women delayed the consultation due to low risk awareness and lack of knowledge about breast self-examination and breast-related diseases.
5.Patients with suspected breast cancer and patients with confirmed and treated breast cancer
Patients are faced with problems related to surgery, the absence of important female parts of the body, the coordination of family relationships, social relationships, and how to face the change of accepting this situation, and the risk assessment of personal survival are in a state of confusion. Some patients even need to be financially constrained in terms of their expectations of efficacy. The combination of factors causes this part of the female patients will be in a state of high anxiety and depression for a long time, which will cause long-term impairment of social function.
Psychological abnormality is a cause of breast disease
The analysis of 22 literature on domestic case-control studies on risk factors of breast cancer in the last decade shows that mental stimulation is an important risk factor necessary for the development of breast cancer and has a relatively large impact on the occurrence of breast cancer in the population.
1. Psychosociological factors
Case-control studies of breast cancer in many cities have found that psychological and psychiatric factors such as trauma, unfortunate life events, withdrawn personality, depression, anxiety, irritability and anger, show that negative life events, subjective social support and negative coping styles contribute to the development of breast cancer. In addition, there is a large amount of domestic and international literature that supports the idea that experiencing excessive stressful life events and the accompanying worries, anxiety, fatigue and depression is one of the important risk factors for the development of breast cancer through retrospective and prospective studies.
2. Individual psychological factors
The impact of anxiety, depression and personality traits, marital quality, psychosocial and psychiatric factors on the development of female breast cancer has been widely appreciated, and numerous data have shown that depression can impair the immune system that monitors cancer; Karni Ginzburg et al. Depression can disrupt the subthalamic-pituitary-body line axis, especially the circadian pattern of glucocorticoids and melatonin.
A variety of factors can now contribute to the development of breast cancer in studies on the pathogenesis of breast disease. Whether the disease causes psychological problems or psychological problems trigger breast disease, in the future, it is a new way to reduce and decrease the degree of carcinogenic effect and harm of life events. The development of efficient intervention strategies to radically reduce the incidence of breast cancer is also a multidisciplinary and synergistic model including biology, epidemiology, psychosocial sociology, behavioral and economic sciences.
Specific approaches are as follows.
1. reducing psychological stress.
2. increasing social support, social communication.
3. adopting positive and effective coping styles, catharsis.
4. teaching defensive skills.
5.Knowledge about breast-related knowledge and adjust the mentality.