OBJECTIVES:
Primary : Determine the psychological and sociological factors that predispose post-mastectomy pain syndrome after surgery in women with resectable breast cancer.
Secondary
* Determine the psychological and sociological factors that predispose post-surgical pain in these patients.
* Evaluate emotional distress over time in these patients.
* Evaluate the acute and chronic pain over time in these patients.
This is a multicenter study. Patients complete multiple questionnaires, including Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI), PCS, and QLQ-C30, to evaluate psychological variables (alexithymia, neurosis, repression of negative emotions, solicitude, dramatization, emotional distress) and quality of life.
Post-mastectomy chronic pain (PMCP) syndrome is measured immediately after surgery and at 24 hours, day 6, and 5 months post-surgery.
A subgroup of patients (20 with PMCP and 20 without PMCP) are followed at months 5 and 6 months post-surgery for medication use, pathological problems, morbid events, family history, and environmental factors.
