Câncer de mama e imagem corporal: impacto dos tratamentos no olhar de mulheres mastectomizadas / Breast cancer and body image: impact of treatments from the point of view of mastectomized females
The perception of body image by mastectomized females, with or without breast reconstruction, is evaluated. Current descriptive, transversal and qualitative research analyzes how illness and treatments impacted their lives. Ten mastectomized females, diagnosed with breast cancer, attended at the UniversityHospital of UFJF, between January and November 2015, participated through a half-structured interview. Qualitative analysis comprised Bardin´s Content Analysis, from which were derived the categories "Diagnosis and Coping", "Support Network", "Treatments and Anxiety", "Body Image", and "Role in Society". Results show that health care of ill females require multiprofessional assistance that helps them to cope with cancer and to rehabilitate them beyond physical limitations. The target is the reconnection of the physical, psychic and spiritual body, to facilitate the adaptation to the 'new body' and allow an increase in self-esteem, social reinsertion and improvement in life quality.