Abstract
This study attempts to answer the following question: do women with inoperable breast cancer have a psychological profile? The study is based on a group of thirty cancer patients that is compared to a matched group of thirty operable breast cancer patients at two oncological institutes in the north of Israel. The participants completed both the Omega Vulnerable Scale and the Brief Symptom Inventory Scale (BSI). The statistical analysis of the psychological variables of inoperable breast cancer patients indicates that these women received higher scores in denial, exhaustion, hopelessness, worthlessness, depression (Omega Vulnerable Scale), somatization, depression, hostility, psychoticism, and additional items (BSI Scale) compared to the control group. The profile of inoperable breast cancer patients did not present a specific psychiatric classification but rather different kinds of psychological symptomatology, which may explain the delay in seeking medical advice.
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