| Summary: | The purpose of this descriptive comparative study was to describe and compare the body
image perception of women who have undergone mastectomy, of women who have
undergone lumpectomy, and of healthy women. The conceptual framework for the study
was based on Brown's Model of Body Image (1977).
A convenience sample of 63 women was used, of which 22 women had undergone
mastectomy, 18 women had undergone lumpectomy, and 23 women were healthy. The
healthy group was significantly younger than the surgical groups. The majority of women
who had undergone breast cancer surgery was one to four years post-surgery. The women
completed the edited version of Berscheid's et al. (1973) Body Image Scale (24 items), five
questions which specifically related to breasts, and a demographic information sheet. Three
additional questions were included, which pertained only to the surgical groups. The
questionnaires to the women were mailed.
Overall, the women had a positive perception of their body image. The majority of
women both in the healthy group and in the mastectomy group presented the medium to high
level of body image satisfaction, but half of women in the lumpectomy group perceived the
medium level of body image satisfaction, and one third perceived the low level of body image
satisfaction. For most women, breast satisfaction was in the medium to high level of
satisfaction.
The findings indicated that no significant difference was found between body image
perceptions of women who had undergone mastectomy, women who had undergone
lumpectomy and healthy women. Furthermore, the majority of women in the surgical groups
perceived the impact of surgery to be little or none and was satisfied with the scar from the
surgery. The findings of this study were discussed in relation to the conceptual framework, other
research studies, and methodological problems inherent to the study. Implications for
nursing practice and recommendations for future research were identified. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Nursing, School of === Graduate
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