Breast amputee

As a young girl I remember waiting for the the arrival of breasts with great anticipation. As a woman I loved how full and beautiful I felt. I was blessed with three incredible daughters and I breastfed them, I treasured those moments with them. Like most women, I felt my chest, my breasts were a symbol of beauty and nurturing. It is a source of safety, comfort and love for our little ones, for our partners and for ourselves. When we embrace those we care about we pull them into our chest and nearer to our hearts.

This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. Amputation of the breast in malignant disease is no longer regarded as a palliative operation in prolonging life; but should have for its purpose a permanent result, as verified by recent statistics. The operative technic of Halsted, which is simply a practical application of the profound anatomic research of Haidenhain in this region is certainly to be recommended. Of late, I have removed the breast, together with the axillary contents, without making an incision in the axilla. The object of this short article is not to describe the radical operation for removal of the breast, which is only too well treated in all works on operative surgery, but to dwell on the value of the anterior axillary incision as a preliminary.

Amputation is commonly understood as the loss of a major limb such as an arm or a leg. However, the loss of any body part often includes profound functional and psychological changes which affect the ways in which patients relate to, view, and use their bodies. Fear and grief are likely consequences, and the surgical and medical treatments for cancer are often drastic and may give rise to further losses.

Background: The concepts 'pain' and 'suffering' are frequently treated as synonymous. However, they are clearly distinct phenomena. Phantom phenomena including pain and sensory disturbances are still recognized as long-lasting problems after limb amputation and after mastectomy. The complex nature of phantom phenomena makes the interpretation of its results ambiguous, regarding the prevalence of pain, sensory disturbances and the accompanying suffering.