Understanding Psychological Distress and Body Image Disturbances among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Role of Surgery

Breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and treatment can affect women both physically and psychologically. Women with BC undergo various painful and debilitating therapies as well as emotional trauma. Additionally, treatment modalities can bring about multiple changes, causing distress and alteration in one’s appearance. This study aimed to assess the psychological distress and body image disturbances after modified radical mastectomy (MRM) among BC survivors. Correlational research design was used to conduct this quantitative research. Survey was administered with closed ended questionnaires as method of data collection. Purpose sampling technique was employed to select the sample of study 50 (married=31, unmarried=19) breast cancer survivors. Three were two research instrument were used; DASS-21 (Henry & Crawford, 2005) and Body Image Scale ((Hopwood et al., 2001). Findings of study reveal that there is positive correlation between psychological distress and body image disturbance. Moreover, depression, anxiety and stress are the significant positive predictors of body image disturbance. BC survivors experience high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, and body image dissatisfaction. Furthermore, unmarried breast cancer survivors report higher score of psychological distress and body image disturbance as compared to married. Depression, anxiety, stress, and body image issues are common among BC survivors. Follow-up management plans for BC survivors should also include evaluation and treatment of psychological distress and addressing body image disturbances in patients undergoing mastectomy.