Är jag fortfarande en kvinna med bara ett bröst?

: En litteraturstudie om upplevelsen av kroppsbilden efter mastektomi

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the world’s most common form of cancer that affects women worldwide. Mastectomy is one treatment option that are available, which is a surgical procedure where a part of or an entire breast is surgically removed. This can affect the women both physically, psychologically and socially which could result in a changed body image. Aim: The aim was to describe women’s experience of their body image after a mastectomy related to breast cancer Method: A general literature review conducted on qualitative studies was used as a method and the selected articles were analyzed following Friberg’s (2022) fourstep model. Results: After the analysis three main categories emerged which all then formed their own subcategories. The main category The changed body formed two subcategories which were Not feeling whole and Acceptance of one's reshaped body. The main category An affected identity formed three subcategories which were Lost femininity, The need to hide one's body and Affected role as a mother. From the last main category Sexuality, two sub-categories were formed which were the Breast's importance for attractiveness and Partner's importance for acceptance. Discussion: By using Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) components of trustworthiness which are credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability, the strengths and weaknesses of the study were examined. For the result discussion three findings were selected and discussed. These were Body Dissatisfaction, Beauty standards and Intimacy.

Date of Award	2023-May
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Gunilla Andrén-Sandberg (Supervisor) & Erik Piculell (Examiner)