Body Image of Women with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review

Body image is the subjective representation of perception, evaluation, assessment and experience of the body that provides the sense of self as a whole. It is affected when passes through diseases, especially when implies physical changes like oncologic diseases. This systematic review identified instruments to assess body image in women with breast cancer, through the analysis of 34 articles published in English and Spanish during the 2004-2014 period in open access repositories. Instruments originated in Europe and the United States, with the psychometric properties of validity and reliability were found. The Body Image Scale of Hopwood and module QLQ BR 23 of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer were reported in studies in Latin American population. It is valued how the body image of women with breast cancer affects their sexuality, couple relationships, self-steem, coping styles and quality of life affects their sexuality, relationships, self-esteem, coping styles and quality of life.