进行了一项对比试验，旨在确定由专业护士提供的咨询服务是否可以预防乳房切除术和乳腺癌相关的心理疾病。75名患者接受了护士的咨询服务并在随访期间接受监测，而77名患者仅接受了外科病房通常提供的护理。咨询未能预防发病率，但护士对女性进展的常规监测使她能够辨认并转介了76%需要心理帮助的患者。相比之下，仅有15% 的对照组患者的状况被识别并转介。因此，在乳房切除术后的12至18个月期间，接受咨询服务的群体（12%）的心理疾病要比对照组（39%）的患者轻得多。这些发现突出了接受乳房切除术的患者心理疾病的高发情况，并表明有必要找到减少这种发病率的方法。

A controlled trial was conducted to determine whether counselling by a specialist nurse prevented the psychiatric morbidity associated with mastectomy and breast cancer. Seventy-five patients were counselled by the nurse and monitored during follow-up, while 77 patients received only the care normally given by the surgical unit. Counselling failed to prevent morbidity, but the nurse's regular monitoring of the women's progress led her to recognise and refer 76% of those who needed psychiatric help. Only 15% of the control group whose condition warranted help were recognised and referred. Consequently, 12 to 18 months after mastectomy there was much less psychiatric morbidity in the counselled group (12%) than in the control group (39%). These findings highlight the high degree of psychiatric morbidity in patients who have undergone mastectomy and indicate the need to find ways of reducing this morbidity.