Body Image and Quality of Life Among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Literature Review

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer patients tend to suffer from severe body image disturbance which has a great impact on their quality of life. The effects can be permanent as cancer survivorship is a lifelong process.

Objectives: The objectives of this literature review are to identify, summarise and critically appraise the current literature investigating the body image and quality of life of breast cancer survivors.

Design: A critical literature review on the body image and quality of life of breast cancer survivors.

Date sources: MEDLINE, the British Nursing Index, CINAHL Plus, PsycI NFO and Google Scholar.

Review methods: A comprehensive search was carried out in the five databases from the period 2005 to 2016 to identify relevant articles with the following terms and their combinations: “body imageâ€, “quality of life†and “breast cancerâ€.

Results: A total of 13 studies were included in the literature review, six investigated the impacts of the disease and its related treatment on body image and seven examined the quality of life among breast cancer survivors. Body image was found to be disturbed after treatment and associated with the type of surgery a patient had undergone, but the impact seemed to diminish within two years following surgery. The cosmetic differences caused by different surgical approaches were found to have no significant impact on body image. Young breast cancer survivors suffered from worse body image when compared with older women. Regarding the quality of life of breast cancer survivors, this was also found to be associated with the type of surgery undergone. Patients who received breast-conserving therapy perceived that they had a better quality of life than those who underwent mastectomy. Age is also identified as a determinant of quality of life, with younger patients reported to have poorer outcomes. In the long run, an improvement in quality of life among breast cancer survivors over time was noted. The relevant literature was unable to produce enough evidence of the correlation between body image and quality of life.

Conclusion: Breast cancer survivors were reported as having a poorer body image and deterioration in their quality of life after related treatment. Specialist nursing care and appropriate interventions should be developed to address patient needs. As most of the studies investigating the body image of breast cancer survivors were carried out in Western countries, implications for research on this issue in different cultural background is suggested.