A comprehensive program of psychosocial care for mastectomy patients.

The traumatic experience of the discovery of a lump in the breast, the diagnosis of cancer and eventual mastectomy have focused medical attention on the importance of providing adequate psychosocial care for mastectomy patients. This paper outlines a comprehensive program now underway. This program includes the premastectomy (preventive), postoperative (interventive) and recovery (postventive) periods. To secure more information for this program, an initial project examining the psychological effects of mastectomy on women and their spouses has been undertaken. It is anticipated that these findings will be helpful in identifying some of the problems encountered and aid in the success of the program in attaining the desired results.