Body Image Study Of Female Patients With Breast Cancer

Nowadays,breast cancer has become one of the malignant tumors that threaten women's health.Breast cancer patients not only have to suffer from the physical torture of the disease,but also face the destruction of body image and the high psychological pressure caused by the change of appearance.This article focuses on the body image problems,with qualitative research method,and nine patients with breast cancer that taken from Street L and Insitution F in Shanghai have accepted in-depth interviews.Disease stage theory as theoretical perspective,describing the breast cancer patients' body image changes at each stage,analyzing and explaining their coping methods,then summing up the commonness and difference.Inspired by Suchman's theory of stages of disease,this study divided the breast cancer patients' experience into four stages,namely,the stage of disease experience,the stage of receiving medical services,the stage of dependent disease and the stage of rehabilitation.The study found that the patient's body image experience has two dimensions.Physiologically,breast cancer patients usually suffered four continuous changes that includes “Abnormal Breasts--‘Punctured' Breasts--‘Out of control' Body--New ‘Born'”.Psychologically,patients' body image has experienced “Concern about death--Problems from breast excision--Body change concerns beside the breast loss--Concerns influenced by social factors” as the main line.In terms of coping strategy,the patients' psychology or behavior has experienced the change path of “Facing up to the disease--Facing transformation--Covering up the disability--Self-adjustment”.At the end of the paper,based on the changes of body image and coping strategies of breast cancer patients in different stages,the author tries to explore the needs of the group and gives some suggestions from the perspective of social work.