Body Image of Women Submitted to Breast Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Background: The study of body image includes the perception of women regarding the physical appearance of<br />their own body. The objective of the present study was to verify the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and its<br />associated factors in women submitted to breast cancer treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out with<br />103 female residents of the municipality of Natal (Northeast Brazil), diagnosed with breast cancer who had undergone<br />cancer treatment for at least 12 months prior to the study, and remained under clinical monitoring. The variable body<br />image was measured through the validated Body Image Scale (BIS). Socioeconomic variables and clinical history were<br />also collected through an individual interview with each participant. The Pearson's chi-squared test (Fisher's Exact)<br />was utilized for bivariate analysis, calculating the prevalence ratio with 95% confidence interval. Poisson regression<br />with robust variance was utilized for multivariate analysis. The statistical significance considered was 0.05. Results:<br />The prevalence of body image dissatisfaction was 74.8% CI (65%-82%). Statistically significant associations were<br />observed between body image and multi-professional follow-up (p=0.009) and return to employment after treatment<br />(p=0.022). Conclusion: It was concluded that women who reported employment after cancer treatment presented more<br />alterations in self-perception concerning their appearance. Patients who did not receive multi-professional follow-up<br />reported negative body image, evidencing the need for strategies that increase and improve healthcare, aiming to meet<br />the demands of this population.