RESEARCH ARTICLE The status and correlates anxiety among breast-can d

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies for women worldwide, especially in developed countries [1]. Compared with the high prevalence of breast cancer in Western countries, the incidence is relatively low in China. However, it has been reported that the incidence of breast cancer has sharply risen in recent years [2,3], which suggests much more attention should be given to breast cancer in China. The advancement of medical technology has apparently increased the 5-year survival rate of breast cancer and made it possible for patients to live a prolonged life with long-term medication following surgery or chemotherapy. In addition to the prolonged lifetime, breast-cancer pa-tients are also concerned with improved quality of life [4]. Breast cancer poses specific challenges both physiologic-ally and psychologically to women. Specifically, intensive surgical and medical treatments destroy the integrity of the female body image, which consequently affects the pa