Body image after mastectomy: A thematic analysis of younger women’s written accounts
- Submitting institution
-
Manchester Metropolitan University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 142007
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
-
10.1177/1359105316630137
- Title of journal
- Journal of Health Psychology
- Article number
- -
- First page
- 1480
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 11
- ISSN
- 1359-1053
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of publication
- February
- Year of publication
- 2016
- URL
-
https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/605859/
- Supplementary information
-
-
- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- Yes
- Number of additional authors
-
1
- Research group(s)
-
D - Fashion
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This multi-disciplinary collaborative project with psychologist (Prof. Grogan) brings new knowledge to previous investigations of the impacts of mastectomy on body image; specifically the variability of accounts of similar experience of breast cancer and more positive stories than previous research has suggested; where-by mastectomy and other cancer-related treatments produce mainly negative impacts on women’s body image and wellbeing. Breast cancer affecting women is the most common with around 50k women in the UK diagnosed annually (Macmillan Cancer Support, 2015). Younger women are increasingly diagnosed and surviving breast cancer but have been under-represented in research (Holland et al., 2014) and this project addresses this lack of representation of younger women’s experiences. The research concentrates on 49 women (aged 29-53 years) and provides health professionals with a template to help survivors negotiate their changed bodies. Whilst survival rates are improving, a growing population of younger women cancer ‘survivors’ are left to negotiate their changed bodies following the end of their treatment pathways. Participants were invited to complete a questionnaire through a UK-based online support network. Thematic analysis was applied to the data by the first author and my research specifically engaged in reflexive analysis. Four key themes were evidenced across both those who had chosen to reconstruct as well as those who had chosen not to reconstruct their breast shape. Key themes were: downplaying aesthetics relative to surviving cancer; body confidence, changed identity and treatment effects. This project addresses the need to understand this cohort of patients and provides an original and valuable resource for health professionals to be aware of the diversity and range of responses of patients to their body image.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -