The implications of functional loss following cancer is an area of psychosocial oncology that is rarely ventured. This is especially true in the context of limb and sensory losses, which have important repercussions on the patient’s well-being, namely as the individual is required to reassess and redefine his or her identity in face of these adversities. This chapter explores the implications of these losses via the intersection of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health with key oncological attributes of body image disturbances that seek to render explicit psychological mechanisms underlying impairments, limitations, and restrictions. Emphasizing the use of a standard framework for the assessment of functioning is essential, especially in understudied areas. Through this perspective, further insight is provided for the methodological and biopsychosocial assessment of functioning and body, and implications for clinical inquiry and practice are proposed for the advancement of cancer survivor care.
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