Qualitative study on body image disturbance in young and middle-aged women with breast cancer in China.

OBJECTIVES

To explore how young and middle-aged Chinese women with breast cancer perceive and emotionally respond to changes in their physical appearance and function during treatment and social interactions.

DESIGN

A descriptive phenomenological qualitative study using Colaizzi's seven-step analysis method.

SETTING

Breast surgery departments of two tertiary hospitals in North and Central China.

PARTICIPANTS

This study included a purposive sample of 18 young and middle-aged women (18-59 years old) with pathologically confirmed breast cancer who had received a mastectomy and obtained a score ≥10 on the Body Image Scale.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: In-depth, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted from January to October 2024 to collect data. The data were analysed using Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis method to identify and interpret the main themes representing participants' lived experiences.

RESULTS

Four main themes and 11 sub-themes were identified. Theme 1, 'Perceived social group pressure', included family burdens, peer influence and public scrutiny. Theme 2, 'Emotional reactions to social pressure', covered strong desire to survive, ambivalence towards visits and existential confusion. Theme 3, 'Perception of physical changes', involved feelings of physical weakness, hair loss and body shame, weight and self-image bias. In Theme 4, 'Coping and Meaning Reconstruction', there were social withdrawal and the experience of positive psychological growth after encountering adversity.

CONCLUSIONS

The research describes the psychological and social pressures breast cancer patients and survivors experience during treatment and gives recommendations to garner understanding and support for this patient group concerning body image disturbance.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.