Body image and self-esteem in women subjected to radical mastectomy.

Abstract

Aim: To study the body image built by patients with breast cancer after surgery, radical mastectomy and partial mastectomy, related to body parts directly involved in surgery and not directly related to it, and to investigate how this image affects bodily self-esteem.
Method: Our sample comprised 23 patients (12 had been subjected to radical mastectomy and 11 to partial mastectomy) and 24 healthy women (they served as control group). Participants were assessed with the Body Grid technique. We analyzed the differences between groups using one way ANOVA and non-parametric tests (namely, H de Kruskal Wallis and U de Mann-Whitney).
Results: Our findings allowed us to identify which were the most damaged aspects about self-esteem and body image in these patients, showing that there were no significant differences in body image and bodily self-esteem between patients subjected to radical and partial mastectomy. However, we found significant differences between body parts directly involved in surgery and those not directly related to it. Finally, we found significant differences between both groups of patients and the control group regarding body image and self-esteem.
Conclusions: Our results show that the Body Grid Technique is helpful to identify the most affected aspects of body image in patients subjected to mastectomy and tailor psychological treatments aimed at improving body image in these patients.