Keywords

breast cancer, mastectomy, reconstruction, medical tattooing, psycho-oncology

Description

SPSS dataset of research data used in above named study.

Data Source

National Anonymous Survey of Breast Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Abstract

Objective: A review of the literature revealed a high incidence of body-image distress among breast cancer survivors who had surgery. Reconstructive surgery and/or medical tattooing may help mitigate body-image distress and mental health symptoms. Both are associated with patient-reported satisfaction, yet further research is necessary to understand their specific impact on body-image distress and psychosocial outcomes, which may enable change to some insurance policies that prohibit professional tattoo artists from this area of practice. This study examined medical tattooing's impact on body-image distress and mental health outcomes among breast cancer survivors following surgery.

Methods: We utilized linear regression analyses to examine 330 responses collected through a nationwide online survey, pursuing two main objectives. First, we investigated body-image distress, depression and anxiety symptoms, and perceived stress in survivors who underwent breast cancer surgery, comparing those with medical tattooing (n = 89) and those without (n = 226). Second, we assessed the influence of the participant's surgery type (i.e., breast conserving surgery [BCS], mastectomy, or BCS/mastectomy with reconstruction) on body-image distress, depression and anxiety symptoms, and perceived stress. Additionally, we evaluated whether individual factors, such as appearance investment, satisfaction with decision, and cosmetic expectation discrepancy, predicted the participant’s level of body-image distress.

Results: Results indicated that participants with medical tattoos reported significantly lower levels of body-image distress, depression and anxiety symptoms, and perceived stress compared to those without medical tattoos. The participant’s surgery type did not significantly predict levels of body-image distress, depression or anxiety symptoms, or perceived stress. However, participants who reported greater appearance investment endorsed higher body-image distress.

Participants who reported higher satisfaction with their treatment decisions and lower cosmetic expectation discrepancy endorsed lower body-image distress.

Conclusions: In the context of post-breast cancer surgical restoration, medical tattooing has been shown to have a positive impact on reducing body-image distress and deleterious mental health symptoms. This complementary intervention should be considered using a patient-centered approach that aligns with the patient’s values and preferences.

Release Date

2-1-2024

Document Type

Data

Identifier

dataset.sav

Sponsorship

none

Language

English

Rights

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Notes

Dataset in SPSS format

College

science

Department

Psychology

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