A Prospective Study on Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients: A 5 Year Follow Up on Quality of Life

The purpose of this study is to provide the physicians with quality long term follow up data on subjects from the Breast Cancer Clinic and the Plastic Surgery Clinic who have been newly diagnosed with breast cancer and will receive treatment for the cancer at this facility. Over the last two decades many studies have been done concerning the quality of life after a mastectomy and/or reconstruction process. The majority of these studies only run for one year post reconstruction, some however, do include a two year follow up. The investigators are proposing a 5 year long term follow up study on subjects who will be diagnosed and treated here at the Breast Cancer Clinic and the Plastic Surgery Clinic. The investigators first questionnaire will be given prior to any treatment for breast cancer, giving us a baseline for the subject's current quality of life. At each successive year, the subject will be given another questionnaire with regards to their progression through the reconstructive process. At the end of 5 years, the subject will complete a final questionnaire. These questionnaires will deal with many areas of daily life functions; activities of daily living, anxiety, depression, social interactions, personal and sexual relationships.