Effects of Belly Dancing on Body Image and Self-Esteem in Women With Breast Cancer – Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction Breast cancer has innumerable consequences in women’s lives and physical activity can be beneficial during this period. Objectives To analyze the influence of belly dancing on the body image and self-esteem of women during and after breast cancer treatment. Methods Nineteen women diagnosed with breast cancer, divided into a control group (8 women) and a study group (11 women), who were under treatment or post-treatment at the Center for Oncological Research (CEPON), participated in the study. A questionnaire was used for data collection, divided into three blocks as follows: a) general information - sociodemographic and clinical characterization; b) body image - Body Image After Breast Cancer; and c) self-esteem - Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The study group underwent a belly dance intervention consisting of 60-minute classes, twice a week, for a total period of 12 weeks. Women in the control group only maintained their routine activities. Results Significant changes were observed in the improvement of body image in the belly dance group in the pre- and post-intervention periods in the body stigma (p = 0.017) and transparency (p = 0.021) scales. There were no changes in regards to self-esteem. The control group had no changes in either body image or self-esteem. Conclusion The influence of belly dancing on the improvement of women’s body image was observed after 12 weeks of intervention. Thus, it is understood that physical activity may help these women after breast cancer, and should be encouraged by health professionals in this field. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - Investigation of treatment results.

Enhancing Self-Esteem and Body Image of Breast Cancer Women through Interventions: A Systematic Review

“…Articles were published from 1999 to 2019 in a variety of scientific journals with different aims and scopes: Archives of General Psychiatry [ 74 ], Body Image [ 75 ], Psicooncología [ 76 ], European Journal of Cancer Care [ 77 ], Psycho-Oncology [ 78 ], The Arts in Psychotherapy [ 9 ], Clinical and Health [ 19 ], and Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte [ 35 ]. Studies involved participants from Brazil [ 35 ], the United States of America [ 9 , 74 ], the United Kingdom [ 75 ], Spain [ 19 , 76 ], South Korea [ 77 ], and Austria [ 78 ]. All the records were written in English except one that was in Spanish but had its abstract in English [ 76 ].…”

“…Half of the studies were Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT), two of them with pre-/post-design [ 9 , 76 ], and two with pre-/post- and follow-up design [ 74 , 78 ]. Three of the studies were Non-Randomized Controlled Trials with pre-/post- design [ 35 ], and with pre-/post- and follow-up design [ 19 , 77 ]. Only one of the studies did not have a control group, but the sample was randomized [ 75 ].…”

“…The number of participants in the different studies ranges from 19 to 312 women with BC. Study 1 [ 35 ] included 19 women and divided them into a Control Group (CG) ( n = 8) and an Intervention Group (IG) ( n = 11). Study 2 [ 9 ] was composed of 33 women who were separated because of their precedence (North and South) and were allocated into two IGs, both composed both of 10 to 12 women, and two CGs.…”

“…Physical activity therapy: A Belly dance intervention [ 35 ] and a Dance/Movement Therapy [ 9 ] were carried out with BC women. In the first facilitators were not mentioned, but in the second the intervention was carried out by dance/movement therapists who teach Authentic Movement locally, nationally, and internationally.…”

“…Part of this importance lies in the association between women’s breasts and the idea of femininity dictated by social and cultural systems, which stress the ideal of beauty for women (i.e., health, youth, and symmetry) [ 33 ]. For most women, breasts are one of the elements that define them as such, and the loss of these would mean the forfeiture of their femininity [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Moreover, the women’s breast is related to the sphere of sexuality, physical attractiveness, motherhood, and breastfeeding.…”