Female breast cancer patients' attitudes toward mastectomy and sleepwear design preferences

The purpose of the study was to identify breast cancer patients' (a) attitudes toward mastectomy, (b) the importance of sleepwear, and (c) sleepwear design preferences. The sample consisted of 34 voluntary postmastectomy women who were members of the Reach to Recovery of the American Cancer Society in Dallas and 41 randomly selected postmastectomy women who were listed in the Cancer Data Center at Methodist Hospitals of Dallas.; The data were obtained through the use of a self-administered questionnaire which elicited information related to the subjects' attitudes toward mastectomy, the importance of sleepwear, design preferences for sleepwear, and demographics. To test the hypotheses of the study, the Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA, the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test, the Friedman two-way ANOVA, and the chi-square analysis were computed with the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Data Analysis program.; Participants revealed positive attitudes toward sexuality, concealment, and appearance satisfaction, but revealed negative attitudes regarding the significance of breasts. There was no significant difference in the subject's attitudes toward sexuality, concealment, and appearance satisfaction with regard to age, marital status, surgery type, and reconstruction surgery of the subjects.; Sleepwear could improve post-mastectomy women' perception of their body. The clothed (worn sleepwear) body cathexis scores were higher than the unclothed body cathexis scores, especially considering the improvement of the breast satisfaction. The results suggest that the subjects were more satisfied with their clothed bodies than with their unclothed bodies.; For female breast: cancer patients, the most preferred sleepwear style was the chemise and the teddy was the least preferred style. Participants in the study preferred sleepwear with round or v-shaped necklines, sleeveless, and with a yoke and gathered skirt or unlined bodice. Participants' age, marital status, and type of surgery revealed differences in preferred styles, weave, and fiber content.; For further study, the researcher suggests an investigation into special needs and more functional design solutions for female breast cancer patients.