International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health | 2016 | Vol 5 | Issue 11 2244 Access this article online Website: http://www.ijmsph.com Quick Response Code: DOI: 10.5455/ijmsph.2016.02042016448 Research Article Mental health of females after mastectomy: a qualitative case study, Gujarat, India Poonam Trivedi, Megha Soni, Deepak Saxena Indian Institute of Public Health-Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Correspondence to: Poonam Trivedi, Email: drpkt1983@gmail.com Received April 02, 2016. Accepted April 19, 2016 6–20 per 100,000, because of the more favorable survival of breast cancer cases in developed countries. As a result, breast cancer ranks the ffth cause of death from cancer, still the most frequent cause of cancer deaths in women in devel- oping regions. [1] The incidence of Ca breast is rising in India and has overtook cervical cancer as the most common type of can- cer among all women and become the frst most common cancer diagnosed in women. [1] It is estimated that during the year 2012, about 144,937 new cases of breast cancer in women occurred in India, which accounts for 27% of all malignant cases. About 70,218 women died of this cancer with mortality rate of 12.7 per 100,000 population, ranking number one killer of women. [1] Moreover, in coming years, the incidence of disease is expected to increase. By 2020, 70% of the world’s cancer cases will be in poor countries, with a ffth in India. It is estimated that by 2030, the number of new cases of breast cancer in India will reach just below 200,000 per year. [2] Background: Breast cancer (Ca) is by far the most frequent cancer among women globally. It is now the most common Ca in both developed and developing regions. In India, Ca breast is the frst common cause of Ca diagnosed in women and it is estimated to increase in coming years. Although with the availability of treatment, the survival rate of patients has increased, still limited research on the postsurgical mental status of females having Ca breast especially from India. Objectives: Present study explores the mental status of females who underwent mastectomy surgery. Materials and Methods: A qualitative study (mainly in-depth interviews) was conducted among females of Ca breast who underwent mastectomy. Themes include self-reaction and reaction of family members at the time of diagnosis and reaction during pre- and postsurgery period. Coping mechanism adopted pre- and postsurgery were also documented. Interviews were analyzed using Atlas Ti software. Results: The result indicates immense fear of disfgurement, which leads to denial for the surgery. There was also intense fear of relapse, which causes anticipatory waiting for next checkup. Strong social support, high family functioning, and faith in God are reported to be positive personal resources for coping. Conclusion: Present study explores various mental health issues that a woman has to face during diagnosis and the rest of the life, and narrates an urgent need for counseling for the patients and family members. The result of this study reinforces the need for counseling and to consolidate physical and psychological rehabilitation to ensure permanent cancer care. KEY WORDS: Cancer breast, mental status, mastectomy Abstract International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health Online 2016. © 2016 Poonam Trivedi. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. Introduction Breast cancer is by far the most frequent cancer among women, with an estimated 1.67 million new cases diagnosed in 2012 (25% of all cancers). It is now the most common can- cer in both developed (794,000 cases) and developing regions (883,000 cases). Incidence rates vary from 27 per 100,000 women in eastern Africa to 98 per 100,000 women in western Europe. The range of mortality rate is similar approximately