The aim was to characterize and locate the pain in women who received breast cancer treatment. The study has an exploratory-descriptive character with a quantitative approach, undertaken through measures of central tendency and percentages. The research was undertaken in the Center for Teaching, Research and Assistance in the Rehabilitation of Mastectomized Women, with 30 women. Data was collected in February - August 2008, using an instrument containing variables able to characterize and locate the pain. The data was treated using means, medians, mode, standard deviation and percentages. It stood out that 56.7% of the women mentioned that the pain is daily, 46.7% of the women mention that the pain began after the breast surgery, and that for 40% the pain is constant. Knowledge, recognition and management of the symptom allow alternative therapeutic options for pain relief, minimizing physical and emotional effects which may be caused in the lives of women who receive breast cancer treatment.
Breast neoplasms; Pain; Post-operative complications; Mastectomy