Hope is individual's most valuable resource which lead to deal with difficult situations. One of the experiences that a woman can feel hopelessness is to be diagnosed with a breast lesion which they can have fear of escalation to breast cancer.

The aim of this study is to determine hopelessness and the influencing factors in women diagnosed with fibrocystic change.

The sample of this sectional study consisted of 69 women chosen by random sampling from those presenting at General Surgery Clinic and who volunteered to participate in the study. The data were collected using the information from mostly containing questions on sociodemographic characteristics and Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS).

The mean BHS score was 6.1 ± 4.6. The hopelessness level was found to be related to age, marriage status, number of children, earlier breast control and family history. Women who had children, were in reproductive period and those who admitted for the first time suffered more hopelessness. However, BHS scores of women admitted for control with a previously negative result, women without a family history and those whose close acquaintances had no history of breast surgery were very low. Also, althought breast cancer is more commen in older ages, in this study BHS score was found negatively related to age.

We found some sociodemographic characteristics to influence hopelessness in women diagnosed with fibrocystic changes. We believe it is important for treatment success to take these influencing factors into account for individuals presenting at Breast Clinics.