This study sought to investigate the quality of life of women who suffer from breast cancer and are part of a support group, comparing the data gathered from mastectomized women who had breast reconstruction and women who had not had surgery. It also compared data of women who had quadrantectomy surgery but did not need reconstruction and those who had not had reconstruction surgery. It is a quantitative transversal study, and data was collected by application of a questionnaire to the respondents and by the SF-36 of the WHO. Fifty women with average age of 57.2 years participated in the survey. The groups were compared against each other - two by two - considering types of surgery, using the Mann-Whitney Test at a 5% level of significance. The results showed that women who had quadrantectomy surgery and did not need reconstruction are those who had the highest average scores in all fields and therefore have the best quality of life. They are followed by the group of women who had a mastectomy and reconstruction. The mastectomized group of women who had not had reconstruction surgery were seen to have a very low level of quality of life. They are followed by the group of women who had quadrantectomy surgery and also had not had reconstruction.
Breast cancer; Quality of life; Self-help groups
