Body Image and Physical suffering during Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients Following Breast Conserving Operations

Mi Ok Han; Jeong Yun Park

doi:10.5388/aon.2014.14.3.155

Journal List > Asian Oncol Nurs > v.14(3) > 1081807

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Han and Park: Body Image and Physical suffering during Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients Following Breast Conserving Operations

Original Article

Asian Oncology Nursing 2014; 14(3): 155-161.

Published online: 30 September 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5388/aon.2014.14.3.155

Body Image and Physical suffering during Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients Following Breast Conserving Operations

Mi Ok Han¹, Jeong Yun Park²

¹Department of Nursing, GangNeung Asan Hospital, Gangneung, Korea.

²Department of Clinical Nursing, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Park, Jeong Yun. Department of Clinical Nursing, University of Ulsan, 86 Asanbyeongwon-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul 138-736, Korea. Tel: +82-2-3010-5333, Fax: +82-2-3010-5332, pjyun@ulsan.ac.kr

Received 13 May 2014 Accepted 15 September 2014

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purposes of this study were to identify body image changes and physical suffering during radiotherapy among breast cancer patients following breast conserving operations and establish correlations between the two.

Methods

Twenty seven patients were recruited in this survey design. Patient interviews and patient-reported questionnaires were used to collect data from March 1 to July 30, 2013. The questionnaire included 18 items about body image and 10 items about physical suffering.

Results

Patients' body image during radiotherapy following breast conserving operation turned significantly negative. Likewise, patients' physical suffering increased significantly during radiotherapy. Body image and physical suffering were inversely correlated (p=.031).

Conclusion

Breast cancer patients receiving radiotherapy following breast conserving operations go through changes in body image. Timely and proper interventions for physical suffering during radiotherapy would help to set up and maintain a positive body image.

Keywords: Breast Neoplasms, Surgery, Radiotherapy, Body Image, Physical Suffering

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Time Table for Data Collection

Table 2

General and Clinical Characteristics (N=27)

DM=Diabetes Mellitus; HTN=Hypertension; ^*DM, HTN, Arthritis, Thyroid disease.

Table 3

Body Image during the Period of Radiotherapy (N=27)

Table 4

Physical suffering during the Period of Radiotherapy (N=27)

^*Excluding menopause subjects.

Table 5

Correlation between Body Image and Physical Suffering

Notes

This article is condensed from of the first author's master's thesis from University of Ulsan.

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