Women's Perception of Body Image after Mastectomy: Qualitative Review

Abstract

Mastectomy action will have an impact on physical changes and perceptions of changes that lead to the response given by women with breast cancer. Body image is something that a person has in thinking about his or her body appearance. This study aims to synthesize and explore the scientific literature on women's perceptions of body image experienced after mastectomy. The study used 4 databases, namely PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and EBSCO. The main keywords were "Perception", "Body image", "Mastectomy", "Qualitative Research". Article searches were carried out according to PRISMA guidelines. The findings in this study contain 3 main themes from 7 articles. Research findings include negative perceptions, positive perceptions, and change over time. This perception can arise from the time the patient receives information regarding the mastectomy plan of action until after the mastectomy. This can change over time until a woman with a mastectomy can accept the changes in her current condition.