Breast cancer and body image as a prognostic factor of depression: a case study in Mexico City

Introduction: Being diagnosed with breast cancer is devastating for women because they face a "sense of loss". Since this loss is observed by the women themselves as well as by those around them, this can often lead to depression. Objectives: (1) To verify a possible association between body image and depression; (2) To establish a relation between depression and time since breast cancer diagnosis. Method: The data came from the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Body Image Scale (BIS), which were used to evaluate the subjects. A random sample of n=120 women was divided into two groups. The women in Group 1 had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer, but had not at that time had any type of surgical treatment. The women in Group 2 had undergone a mastectomy over a year ago. Results: The women in Group 1 were found to be more severely depressed, and a statistically significant association was detected between depression and body image (p<0.05). In contrast, in Group 2, even though many of the subjects also felt depressed because of a distorted or disturbed body image, their depression was milder (p>0.05). Conclusions: The women in Group 1, the majority of whom were suffering from severe depression, had a disturbed body image even though they had not had a mastectomy. The women in Group 2, who had been operated, also suffered from similar body image problems, but their depression was not as intense.