Abstract Background:Breast cancer is the most common female cancer worldwide. Although mastectomy is considered the treatment of choice for the majority of cases of breast cancer; a noticeable percentage of breast cancer survivors claim they were never advised about reconstruction. It has been proven that breast reconstruction helps breast cancer survivors to overcome the trauma of their diagnosis and improve their psychological well-being.Objectives: To assess the level of awareness and expectations regarding breast reconstruction surgery among female with breast cancer survivors in Baghdad, and to find if there is association between sociodemographic data and expectations of breast reconstruction.Methodology: This is a cross sectional study that included 120 breast-cancer survivors and has been conducted in Medical City/ Oncology teaching hospital during the periodfrom 1st of May 2022 to the 30th of September 2022. A questionnaire-based patient interview was employed as the data collection method. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part collected sociodemographic information, upon which a socioeconomic score was calculated. The second part of the questionnaire consisted of six sections assessing: expectations of medical team, expectations of pain, expectations of coping, expectations of appearance, expectations of implants, and expectations of abdominal function. Results: A statistically significant association was detected between the following: 1- Expectations of medical team and both education and socioeconomic status. 2-Expectations of pain and both education and socioeconomic status.3-Expectations of coping and each of age, occupation and socioeconomic status.4-Expectations of appearance and each of education, occupation and socioeconomic status.5-Expectations of implants and each of education, occupation and socioeconomic status.6-Expectations of abdominal function and occupation.Conclusion: More than half Iraqi women who underwent mastectomy due to breast cancer are of low socioeconomic status. Regarding their expectations toward breast reconstruction, the majority had good expectations of medical team, fair expectation of pain, good expectations of coping, good expectations of appearance, fair expectations of implants, with expectations of abdominal function varying between individuals. Although higher socioeconomic status was a predictor of better expectations regarding medical team, coping, and appearance; meanwhile, it was a predictor of poorer expectation concerning pain and implants.Key word: Breast reconstruction surgery, Awareness and expectation, Breast cancer.
Vaccination is a vital cornerstone of public health, which has saved countless lives throughout history. Therefore, achieving high vaccination uptake rates is essential for successful vaccination programs. Unfortunately, vaccine uptake has been hindered by deferent factors and challenges. The objective of this study is to assess COVID-19 vaccine uptake and associated factors among the general population.
This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Basmaia city, Baghdad from June to October 2022. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire using multi-stag
Background: An important factor influencing duration of breastfeeding is mother’s employment status. The nutritional, immunological, psychological and economic benefits of breastfeeding are well documented. Both UNICEF and the World Health Organization recommend mothers should breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months.
Objectives: To determine how the employment and the employment variables (type of work, time of return to work and hours of work) influence the breast feeding practices.
Methods: A cross- sectional study was carried out on a sample of 200 employed mothers who had their last child been completed at least tow years. Data were collected using a questionnaire form. It was carried out during the period from 1st of Ap
BACKGROUND: Breast cancer remains the most common malignancy among the Iraqi population. Affected patients exhibit different clinical behaviours according to the molecular subtypes of the tumour. AIM: To identify the clinical and pathological presentations of the Iraqi breast cancer subtypes identified by Estrogen receptors (ER), Progesterone receptors (PR) and HER2 expressions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present study comprised 486 Iraqi female patients diagnosed with breast cancer. ER, PR and HER2 contents of the primary tumours were assessed through immunohistochemical staining; classifying the patients into five different groups: Triple Negative (ER/PR negative/HER2 negative), Triple Positive (ER/PR positive/HER2 positive), Luminal A (ER
... Show MoreContracting cancer typically induces a state of terror among the individuals who are affected. Exploring how glucose excess, estrogen excess, and anxiety work together to affect the speed at which breast cancer cells multiply and the immune system’s response model is necessary to conceive of ways to stop the spread of cancer. This paper proposes a mathematical model to investigate the impact of psychological panic, glucose excess, and estrogen excess on the interaction of cancer and immunity. The proposed model is precisely described. The focus of the model’s dynamic analysis is to identify the potential equilibrium locations. According to the analysis, it is possible to establish four equilibrium positions. The stability analys
... Show MoreBreast cancer is the commonest cause of cancer related death in women worldwide. Amplification or over-expression of the ERBB2 (HER/neu) gene occurs in approximately 15-30% of breast cancer cases and it is strongly associated with an increased disease recurrence and a poor prognosis. Determination of HER2/neu status is crucial in the treatment plan as that positive cases will respond to trastuzumab therapy. It has been used to test for HER2/neu by immunohistochemistry as a first step and then to study only the equivocal positive cases (score 2+) by in situ hybridization technique. The aim of our study is to compare between immunohistochemistry and silver in situ hybridization (SISH) in assessment of human epidermal growth factor (HER2/neu)
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