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Background and Objectives: As the most common neoplasm among females and the second most common cancer globally, breast cancer imposes enormous costs on health systems. This study aims to estimate levels of breast cancer in Iran and provinces, and examine correlates of incidence of breast cancer, focusing on place of residence, using the most recent nationally available data. Material and Methods: This study is based on a total of 8333 breast cancer cases (259 males and 8074 females) registered by Iran Cancer Registration System during a Persian year (March 21th 2009 through March 20th 2010). Complementary demographic data about the study population was obtained from the 2011 National Census, conducted by Iranian Statistical Center. The Age-Standardized Rate (ASR) of breast cancer was estimated for the overall population, the capital city of provinces, large metropolitan areas, and four categories of provinces located in the north, south, east, west, and center of Iran. Results: Only 3.1% of total 8333 breast cancer patients were men. The mean (SD) age of female and male participants were, respectively, 50.5(12.7) and 56.5 (15.4). The rate of breast cancer for the country was estimated at 33.1 cancers per 100,000 population, and the estimated rates for men and women was are respectively 24.6 and 0.82 per 100,000 population. The incidence of breast cancer in Iran varies from 15 cancers per 100,000 population in urban areas to 34.6 cancers in large metropolitan areas. Also, the estimated rate of breast cancers ranged from 18.1, 19.1 and 19.7 cancers in the west, north, and east of the country, respectively, to 29.3 and 29.7 cancers per 100,000 population in southern and central provinces of Iran. With rising the level of urbanization of provinces, the estimated rate of breast cancer increased (r=0.71, P

Objective: This study was conducted to improve the body image and self-esteem among breast cancer patients after mastectomy. Materials & Methods: Our study comprised of 23 breast cancer patients in Imam Hossein Hospital, aged between 30-60 years, all of whom had undergone mastectomy and then radiotherapy. The study participants were selected through purposeful sampling and then randomly assigned to the case (10) and control (13) groups. The intervention program (cognitive behavioral group intervention) consisted of 12 sessions of intervention (2 sessions per week) each taking 90 minutes, in a 6 week process. Both group members completed the “body image and relationships scale” and the “Pope self- esteem questionnaire” before and after training. Analysis of covariance to eliminate the pretest effect on posttest results and ANOVA to determine the differences between the groups were used through SPSS 18 in this study. Results: This intervention was significantly effective on improving the mean score of body image and self- esteem in the breast cancer/mastectomy patients of the case group compared to that of the control group (P